When Souls Collide: Wind and Fire
by Zepphyra.Snow.Storm
Summary: Slash. "He will ride across land and time,/To find a way through this endless night./There's a storm in his heart/And a fire burns his soul/But the wanderer's part is to ride alone." Sasuke's family was murdered in a gruesome way and he seeks revenge. Is it possible for Naruto to calm a fiery nomad's heart, when the world is on the brink of another war? Action/Adventure/Angst
1. Prologue

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto is the creation of Masashi Kishimoto._**

**Summary:**

**- AU: Most easily, you could look at this as a post-apocalyptic universe, where people are advanced enough but with different things, like magic. There are parts of the lost world that weren't harmed that almost no one knows about. There are things people know about, left over from books that were not destroyed. There are things dug up in archaeological sites... Mostly this is a bizarre mix of futuristic/post apocalyptic high fantasy.**

**I am tentatively playing around with an idea for a fanfic-based story, like so many people seem to be doing right now. So this is probably going to be it. If it's good enough of course. But I may need some help to keep going... And it's an idea that is sort of out there, especially because it's Naruto... But I'm gonna try it. Obviously if I did make a novel I'd have to change a lot of things. But I'm also in my senior year of high school as I post this prologue, and as such, am quite busy. Just please bare with me!**

**Anyway, I renamed the various villages and gave them Latin names, so these are the ones in this chapter:**

_**Land of Eddies: Terra Gurgitibus**_

_**Land of Fire: Terra Ignis**_

_**Whirlpool Village (I kinda guessed at that name): Gurgite Vicus**_

**There are other changes as well, but like I said, please bare with me! And review! That is extremely important! KEEP IN MIND THIS IS ONLY THE PROLOGUE AND I HAVE YET TO TYPE UP CHAPTER 1, ALTHOUGH IT IS WRITTEN. SO PLEASE DON'T SAY YOU'RE CONFUSED BECAUSE MORE WILL COME. Also I tend to be vague in my writing and have things unfold and revealed to the reader over time.**

_**Enjoy~**_

_**~Xsnow~stormX~**_

* * *

_15 years before present_

* * *

People don't say the name "Uchiha" anymore. True, the clan had been the proudest in Terra Ignis. The mere mention of the name had struck fear into the hearts of their enemies. But it's taboo now. People just don't say it anymore.

You're probably wondering what could have happened to such a powerful and prestigious clan. No one really knows. Well, that isn't true. They _know_, but it still, even now, just seems impossible—the sheer _idea_ of one man taking out the entire clan.

... Especially because that man was Itachi Uchiha, the clan's most prominent prodigy.

It happened fifteen years ago, in lukewarm, humid summer twilight. The man the clan knew and loved mercilessly cut down everyone: his parents, best friend and even his lover. They say he killed every man, woman and child indiscriminately—which is really an inaccurate. He failed to kill his darling little brother, Sasuke, five at the time of the incident. He'd been away, playing with his friends. But it is said that Itachi waited for him to return home, and forced the child to relive the murders through his brother's eyes—through the Sharingan. Apparently this Sharingan is a special ability passed down through the clan, and is able to manipulate time. At the user's will, it can even predict what another person is going to do up to one minute in the future.

And so, wishing to die with the rest of the clan, Sasuke had lain upon the same spot for days, in the drying blood of his parents, before someone finally showed up. He was just a bit taller than average, with pale, sickly white skin, and long, greasy black hair. His eyes were yellow, and the pupils narrow. They could almost be likened to a snake's. This was a man of legend, someone known throughout Terra Ignis and even beyond. His name lived in infamy, and even the whisper of it would terrify naughty children into submission. This man was Orochimaru.

* * *

_2 years earlier_

* * *

"Kushina! Hurry and get Naruto out of here!" Minato yelled as the explosions grew louder.

This had all happened very suddenly, and without much warning. But the Yellow Flash was determined that, even if he should die, his family should get out alive.

Kushina ran as fast as she could with her one month old infant wrapped tightly in her arms. She knew she wasn't running fast enough. But the miasma weighed down on her body and she felt as though she was under water. It was getting hard to breathe.

Kushina had reached the outskirts of Gurgite Vicus. It was too dangerous to openly run across the bridge and onto the continent, back to Terra Ignis. Kushina knew that what she was about to do was a tremendous leap of faith. She gently tucked the child into a pile of leaves in the marsh.

"Naruto," she whispered, brushing his tuft of sunshine yellow hair. His innocent blue eyes looked up at his mother questioningly. Kushina looked over her shoulder aprehensively, then fell to her knees, clasping her hands above her head in a desperate motion. "Rahun... Father! Please! I beg of you, watch over my boy. You rule all and know all. Please watch over and protect my son! Mesi, I leave my child in your care. I am your faithful servant! Please, pity my child. I will fight for my clan and my village, and I will die willingly—gladly even! But not this baby. Please... not Naruto!"

This is how, in the long hours that followed, Kurama, the demon fox, came upon a little child in the brush on the edge of the marshes. Kurama took pity on the child. He was a baby and was too young to know about the wrongs that his clan had caused the fox, or why the clan even hunted the fox in the first place.

Kurama's bright red miasma receded into his body, dissipating the fox-shaped energy that hovered in the air above him like a heavy thundercloud. His skin was quite pale, with three thick, black lines on each cheek. He had long, untamed red hair, held out of his face by a dark green bandana that was folded and tied like a headband. His upper incisors were only a bit visible, but his narrow slit-like eyes were all fox demon. They were red and hungry and cunning and cruel. The two long swords he carried on his back made no noise even as he moved to pick up the little baby, although his big, shiny black boots made loud sucking noises as he schlepped though the marshy area.

The blonde infant, clearly unafraid of the stranger, peered up at him under long feminine eye lashes. He wore a strikingly bold expression. Without a second thought, Kurama took this child, Naruto, as he had heard it called, and left quickly the stench of death that covered Gurgite Vicus.

* * *

_End Prologue_

* * *

**Okay, so, I know this is really different... And probably really weird... But It's kinda weird for me too...**

**To clarify some things:**

_**Minato was born in the Village Hidden in the Leaves (Vicus in Foliis) and Kushina is from Whirlpool Village (Gurgite Vicus).**_

_**Miasma: n. 1) noxious exhalations putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere. 2) a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike atmosphere**_

**_The Uchiha clan, just like in Naruto, are a clan from the Leaf Village (^ ^ ^)_**

**_Sasuke was 3 when Naruto was born and became an orphan, thus they are 3 years apart._**

**I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT REVIEWS ARE. THEY HELP SO MUCH, EVEN IF YOU JUST SAY YOU LIKE IT, AND YOU THINK I SHOULD KEEP GOING. PLEASE. CHECK FOR UPDATES ON MY PROFILE BECAUSE I USUALLY KEEP UP TO DATE WITH HOW I'M DOING ON MY CURRENT STORY THERE. THANKS FOR READING!**

* * *

(12 April, 2013) I edited this! Yay! I hope it's lookin' good!

Okay so. The names Rahun and Mesi are going to be names of gods in this fic. I would suggest looking on www dot purpleduckgames dot com / qelf8 to see what I'm doing here. I'm basing this off of traditional Elven gods, but whatevs. Rahun is based off of the Elven Allfather. Rahun (chaotic good) is the head honcho. He's attributed to creation, and he embodies freedom, laughter and loves a good fight, and he's the protector and guardian of all races. Mesi is the female equivalent of the "Lord of the Deep". Mesi (chaotic good) is fairly powerful, but not as powerful as the Rahun. She is the ruler of the seas and loves acquiring and imparting knowledge.

-sigh- Well I suppose that's that. Hope that helps! Lol


	2. I-No Place Like Home

_**Disclaimer in Prologue **_

**xxxx**

**I finally got this out! This chapter is probably pretty slow... But it's very important nonetheless. I don't generally do fillers. It might be kind of boring, and I apologize for that. Or maybe it's just like that to me, because I've already read it three times... Point is, stuff does happen, and the info is important! XD**

**Remember that place names are often going to be in Latin. The Leaf Village: Vicus in Foliis**

**I will designate when people are speaking another language, and what language they are speaking. Yes! There are different languages! Yay! Pyroan is basically Greek, 'kay? I made the word up and it's the language of people from Terra Ignis, aka Land of Fire. Why? Well, PYROan. XD Creative, aren't I? No.**

**xxxx**

**Narutopokefan: I'm going to keep going until way too many people say I should stop :D And I'm glad you like the origins I created for Sasuke and Naruto :) But of course... there's always more to it than there seems :P  
Mwahahahahaha: I'm glad you're so excited for this next chapter :) And yeah, I think since everyone already knows the Kyuubi's name, use it. Don't disrespect Kurama. Love him. Embrace him. XD**

**PinkTim: Thanks :) And I don't mind it being a short review, you reviewed and that's all that matters XD It makes me feel really good, ya know? :)**

**xxxx**

_**Enjoy~**_

_**~Xsnow~stormX~**_

* * *

_12 years after the Uchiha Massacre_

* * *

"Wrong!" Kurama smacked Naruto upside the head.

"I know, I know." The blonde grumbled as he tried again.

Kurama went over to a nearby tree and sat down, stretching his long legs out in front of him. He looked at Naruto with a languid expression.

"Don't force it. If you force it nothing will happen. You have to _let_ it happen. Close your eyes and calm your breathing."

Naruto scrunched up his face, trying to understand his teacher's words.

"Uhm..." The boy took up his stance again, trying to be calm, and trying to "let it happen". "Rasengan!"

A ball of fast-spinning air appeared, hovering just above the palm of Naruto's hand. But it quickly dissolved.

"Idiot!" Kurama growled. "Don't be so surprised when something actually happens! Retain your concentration! Again!"

Naruto nodded vigorously. "Rasengan!"

This time, the sphere of air firmly formed in Naruto's hand, but faltered when he spoke.

"Umm… What do I do now?"

Kurama rolled his eyes.

"For the love of…"

He acted as though it were an effort to pick himself up off of the ground. Turning so that Naruto could see, he quickly formed the Rasengan in his hand and thrust it at the tree he had been sitting under. When he did this, the Rasengan left his hand and barreled through that tree, as well as the one behind it, with a loud, resounding crash.

"Do that." The redhead flopped back under the now rather battered tree, and watched.

Naruto formed the Rasengan again, and copied his teacher's movements, propelling the sphere of fast-moving air into a tree. Like a puppy, he eagerly turned to Kurama for praise. He adored it when his master praised him. But the man sat there, and instead threw the blonde a rather dissatisfied glance.

"Not strong enough. Again."

Naruto sighed, but he did it again.

This time Kurama's lips curled up a bit, as though thinking of forming a smile, and he gave the boy a thumbs up.

"That's enough for today."

"No way! Stupid fox, you said you were gonna teach me how to make my element flow through a weapon! Hey, what the weapon should be?" His blue eyes grew bright with excitement, disregarding Kurama who was trying to interject. "Am I gonna wield a sword like you? It's so cool how you can use two at once! I wanna learn how to do that!"

"Naruto! Calm down!" Kurama glared up at him, massaging the bridge of his nose. "You _will_ learn, but not today. Physical activity is good, but nothing is good in excess, and you have a tendency to do _everything_ in excess."

Naruto pouted, put off by Kurama's scolding.

But then, with a sidelong glance, Kurama finished with, "You need to let your body rest for a while. You need to learn that physical, spiritual and intellectual growth must come with a growth in patience as well. Nothing will happen overnight... Well actually, with you, it just might, seeing how you exert yourself. Anyhow, I'll let you get set up with a weapon once we get to Vicus in Foliis. Alright?"

Naruto had to keep himself from jumping for joy. He kept sulking, hoping to make Kurama feel bad, and only replied with a, "Fine…"

* * *

_Flashback_

* * *

_Naruto sighed, and squirmed in his sleeping bag to get comfortable. He turned over, wiggling closer to the fire for warmth. Sleeping just wasn't working right now. He opened his eyes. Kurama wasn't in his sleeping bag. Surprised, Naruto got up and went to go look for him. But he didn't have to look far._

_In the darkness, the child could see a bright orange blaze every few seconds. He crept closer, silently and carefully. The moonlight peeked through the heavy canopy of trees, hanging like silk webs around him. Through the dim sliver light he could just make out his master, with those bright flashes of fire lighting up his pale countenance, and that red hair that hung about him like a halo of blood. _

_Naruto slowly crept closer._

_Crossing both of his swords together, he slashed the empty air with great force. Then, he crossed his swords again. But this time, Naruto saw the flash of fire, and in front of Kurama, a tree was cut into pieces and heavily burned._

_"Oh…!" Lost in awe and wonder, the boy had forgotten himself and revealed that he had been spying._

_Kurama turned to him, and grinned._

_"Watch closely, now."_

_The sword in his left hand almost seemed to catch fire, while the air around the sword in his right hand seemed to vibrate. He did the action again, and Naruto laughed and clapped with joy at seeing such a display from his master._

_Kurama walked over to Naruto, sheathing his swords._

_"You liked that, kit?" He asked with a nearly imperceptible smirk._

_"That was amazing!" Little Naruto was simply bubbling over with excitement._

_"Well." Kurama walked past the boy toward the camp. "You still have a long way to go before you can do something like that." He looked back at Naruto with an expression the blonde liked to think was something akin to fondness. "You're getting there though. You're going to be at that point sooner than you think, so don't get too impatient."_

* * *

_Back to Present_

* * *

Fire was Kurama's element, while Naruto's was wind. However, being a fox demon, Kurama could use all elements: fire, wind, lighting, water and earth. But fire was always his strongest, which even Naruto could see. The fox had once explained to him that it was simply the make-up of your spirit and your genes. That's what guaranteed your spirit element. For instance, if Naruto's family was full of earth and fire spirit types, he had a low chance of having a wind, lightning or water spirit. But it wasn't necessarily impossible. Kurama also explained that even though he could utilize aspects of all the elements, humans could at most use two or three. So when it came time for Naruto to choose one other than his wind, it would best that he choose carefully.

Not only is the spirit type dependent on the make-up of the spirit itself and of the person's genes, but the type of magic a person uses is also dependent on these same two factors. Most generally, there is white, grey and black magic. White magic users never use their powers for bad, and often are skilled in using charms and wards. Moreover, they are customarily healers. But then again, these are stereotypes. Grey magic can go either way. It depends simply on the whim of the user: whether they wish to inflict harm or use their magic for good. Either way, they have a very broad range of techniques because of this, and are perhaps the most feared of all magic users, even though the majority of them would never truly do anything "evil". Black magic users, contrary to the popular belief, are not always bad. They are adept at curses and making poisons and such. They must often perform sacrifices to blight or summon what they wish.

Within these three types of magic are so many other sub-types that there are simply too many to tell. Naruto here hasn't quite figured out what he excels at yet. Kurama has told him that he suspects it is either grey magic or black magic. But Naruto knows he lacks the concentration as of yet to cast a curse, so he doubts the black magic theory.

The pair was walking down a long dirt road as Naruto pondered all of this. But he was dragged out of his thoughts when Kurama stiffened, and Naruto's attention was brought to another person strolling toward them at a leisurely pace. Naruto heard Kurama growl softly. But they continued walking. Soon enough, the stranger was upon them. It was a tall male with long, brown hair and pale, milky eyes. He stopped them in the road.

"State your business." Latin flowed easily from his lips like a soft ribbon of silk, yet his voice was stern, and it demanded an answer.

Naruto began to speak, but Kurama cut him off. "We are headed for Vicus in Foliis. Why are you blocking our path?" The redhead sneered down at the young man, and Naruto watched him falter slightly. He was glad that he wasn't on the receiving end of that look.

"Our lookouts spotted two suspicious figures approaching the city walls, and they requested I look into it."

Kurama raised an eyebrow. "I see you're not alone?"

A girl, most probably the same age as this young man from what Naruto could see, dropped from a tree about 100 yards off. The man's eyes darted in her direction, then back to the two travelers.

"As you can obviously see, I am not." This would have come off as impolite with anyone else, but this man managed to make his sneering quite dignified and proper.

Kurama, appearing thoughtful for a moment, eyed them both.

"Will you be accompanying us to the village, then?"

The man nodded, still watching them with his strange, wary eyes. But Kurama must have passed him and the girl off as harmless because he and Naruto were on the move once again. The girl remained a good distance away from them.

After a while, the man broke the silence by asking another question. "How long will you be staying in our village?"

Kurama shrugged. "Don't know. Depends on how long I feel like it."

The man nodded his acknowledgement. After about an hour, they were approaching the village gate. Naruto was all eyes. In his entire life, he had never been to a town this big. One of the gate keepers, a man with dark, spiky hair and a soul patch, let them inside, nodding to the man and woman preceding the travelers.

The gatekeeper spoke. "Please allow me to escort you to the Hokage."

"With pleasure." Kurama drawled. The man stiffened at the menacing undertone of his voice.

Naruto didn't know where to look as they walked down the middle of the bustling village. There were rows of shops, one in particular with a lovely aroma of food drifting out of it. A larger building showed a selection of weapons in the front window. Colorful apartments and houses littered the streets that stemmed from the main one, and everyone looked so cheerful and happy just to be going about their daily business.

The three men soon came into view of an immense structure, towering over everything else in the town. The building was rounded, with a large flat red roof. The front of it read "Ignis". In the background was a substantial mountain. The sides were steep and rocky, with many ridged cliffs and over hangs. On five of these separate cliffs were colossal shrines, four of them decorated and flowered as though there were gods being honored there, or they were the graves of great people. The last one stood off farthest to the right—starkly bare in contrast to the others. Naruto wanted to question Kurama about this, but he noticed that the fox was already looking at Naruto with a tense expression. However, the expression disappeared as soon as the blonde had seen it, and he'd guessed that it had simply been his imagination.

They continued to the large building with the red roof, until the mountain was nearly out of sight. Suddenly, Kurama halted Naruto.

"Wait." His voice came across as strangely even.

Their escort had stopped briefly to greet another man, with straight, light brown hair that came about an inch above his shoulders. He wore a black bandana, but a clump of his long bangs still hung in his face.

'What is your name?" Kurama asked, pointing to this man.

"Ah, Izumo!" Naruto thought he seemed a bit flustered, but maybe it was just him.

The gatekeeper-escort stepped closer to Izumo.

"What's going on? Do you need something from him?" The man spoke calmly, but Naruto could almost visualize the man's hackles rising.

Kurama turned to him. "I would like to leave Naruto down here with Izumo, if it's alright."

"Umm…" The man blinked, slightly bewildered. He looked at Izumo.

"I don't mind..." Izumo returned with a shrug.

Kurama turned to go, but then, as if having a second thought, turned back and went over to Naruto. He ruffled the blonde's hair, shocking the boy.

"You're a good kid. And you have endless potential. Use it." The deomon flashed a brief smile that showed some honest affection for Naruto.

Watching Kurama walk away, Naruto was at a loss. This feeling of uneasiness he had been trying to ignore couldn't be swept under the rug anymore. Kurama would never normally do something like that. What was going on?

"So is this your first time in Vicus in Foliis?" Izumo queried. He perched himself up on a stone fence and gave Naruto a sidelong grin.

"Um. Yeah." He was a little embarrassed about that since it seemed to be such a large and well known place.

"Hmm."

"Umm…" Naruto began. He wanted to ask what those shrines were. But the thought suddenly occurred to him that maybe it was a taboo subject in the village. _Oh no…. What if they're haunted?!_ The thought struck terror into his soul.

"Yes?" Izumo turned to face him.

"… Those shrines…"

"Oh those!" Izumo seemed to know just what he wanted to ask, and his facial expression didn't make it seem like he was about to tell a ghost story, so Naruto let himself relax.

"Well, we have a very powerful village leader, known within and without the country as the Hokage. This village is feared and respected for the Hokage and the strength of the citizens. First you have to know that. It's a very special place."

Naruto nodded, but he was already zoning out.

"So those shrines there are each dedicated to one Hokage. There have been five so far, and the one left undecorated is the current one; the one still alive."

Naruto did get that, since it actually answered his question.

"Now, the fifth Hokage is our first female Hokage, Tsunade. She was a student of the third, and is one of three legendary figures to have come out of our village, known all over the world as the The Nightmare Trio."

_The Nightmare Trio?_ Naruto stiffened, now visibly alarmed. Izumo laughed.

"Don't worry, Tsunade is a wonderful woman. Just make sure you watch yourself around her. She can be terrifying."

Naruto made a face. "It's hard to believe your leader is a girl…"

Izumo laughed again. "If Lady Tsunade heard you say that, you would be unconscious by now. She can truly be a fearsome woman. She's the world's best healer, but her brute strength is also world renown."

"Hmph." There was a short silence as Naruto pictured a very manly looking woman, and then Naruto asked another question. "So, this village has been here for a while then, huh?"

Izumo looked at the blonde with an expression that was difficult to decipher.

"Yes… We have a very rich history that we are immensely proud of."

"Oh…" Naruto turned toward the village and watched the small children being led home by their parents, probably to eat dinner. "Is it nice to have a permanent home like this? Do you have a family like these people seem to?" He gestured toward the villagers, most of who were going home for the evening.

"Umm… Well…" Izumo was clearly baffled, and Naruto couldn't blame him. "I've always lived here, and my family is here as well… But," He grabbed Naruto's shoulder and turned him around to face him. "you look… strangely like someone that I used to know…"

Naruto's eyes widened.

"Really?" he asked, getting excited. "Is he cool?"

Izumo smiled. "Yeah… He was…" His smile had been brief; he looked forlorn now. "Where were you born?"

Naruto was caught off guard at this unexpected question, but then he looked away, ashamed. "Terra Gurgitibus." He was ashamed because this was his automatic answer, and it was where he thought he had been born. But it's not like he ever knew for certain.

Izumo's eyebrows rose a bit. "Interesting…"

"Nah, not really." Naruto crossed his arms and began to pace impatiently. "When is that stupid old fox coming back?"

"I'm sure he'll be back soon, but please be patient in the meantime."

"No! I'm starving! This ramen place back there in the village… Ichiroba—Icha Icha—whatever, smelled really good."

Just then Izumo's countenance brightened considerably—not that it was really very dim or gloomy to begin with. He strode past the stone fence and greeted the returning spiky haired man.

"Kotetsu!" Izumo smiled. "So, what—"

Kotetsu motioned for Izumo to come closer. Kotetsu whispered something in his ear that caused him to gasp and look over at Naruto out of the corner of his eye, and the blonde saw it.

"What?" he was immediately next to the pair.

"Umm…" Kotetsu coughed, appearing a bit uncomfortable. "Will you please follow me?"

"Okay…" Naruto was worried. He had been a bit anxious before, but he was now even more so that this man—Kotetsu—returned to them without Kurama. And the way that Kurama had acted before leaving him…

Following Kotetsu up a flight of stone stairs outside of the building, Naruto's foreboding grew. He couldn't put his finger on why, though. Inside, they went down a long hallway, and stopped in front of a pair of large, oak doors. The hallway seemed to go on forever past that, though. Kotetsu rapped on the doors, creating a loud, hollow sound.

"Lady Tsunade?" he called.

"Enter!" The strong, full voice of a woman called back through the door.

Kotetsu opened the doors and gestured for Naruto to enter first. Immediately he saw was a tall, slender woman with short black hair. She wore black and white robes and ornate silver sandals on her feet. She didn't smile. Her dark grey eyes were cold and wary to the boy; almost disdainful. Naruto sneered at her. She sneered right back.

"Shizune!"

The woman's expression was at once docile.

"Apologies, my lady."

The person who had rebuked this Shizune was sitting behind a large desk at the back of the room.

_The Hokage…_

Tsunade stared at Naruto so intensely that he almost felt like backing up. But he didn't. He distracted himself from her fierce amber eyes and looked over the rest of her. She sat in a relaxed pose, cheek resting on hand, but she seemed somehow tense. The woman looked to be in her mid to late twenties. She had long blonde pigtails, and a few loose strands of her hair cascaded freely over her face. There was a purple design on her forehead that, to Naruto, was strangely beautiful. The thing the boy really started gawking at was her ears. _She's an elf?!_

"Wow! I've never seen an elf before! Believe it!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes and "tsked", pressing her forehead into one of her slender hands. She really had very large breasts. They were only emphasized by a tight, long-sleeved white shirt with a low neck line. A red coat or cloak was draped over her shoulders.

While Naruto took in the last few details of her, Tsunade sighed heavily and pressed her finger tips together.

"Naruto." The name sounded like a lead weight being dropped onto the boy.

"That's my name." He replied, raising an eyebrow.

Tsunade sighed again.

"I think you'd better have a seat. This may shake you up." Her voice had become a bit softer.

Now the boy was actually getting a bit scared. Pulling up an upholstered chair, he sat down in front of the Hokage's desk. He realized that every muscle in his body had been tense, and he tried to relax a bit.

"This… may take a while. But listen carefully. What I am about to tell you will shock you to the core."

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

"Let me just begin by introducing myself. I am Tsunade, the leader of this village—the Hokage." Naruto slouched in his seat and nodded. "The woman behind you is Shizune, and I heard you have already met Kotetsu and Izumo."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto waved his hand impatiently. "Just get on with it, Granny."

It happened faster than he could've seen it coming. Tsunade was across the desk and in Naruto's face, pulling him up by the collar.

"That would be _Lady Tsunade_, you beast." She hissed.

Naruto groaned. _So she's one of _those_ women…_

"Yeah, sorry, Granny Tsunade."

Naruto was, for all intents and purposes, thrown back into his chair. Tsunade sat back down with her head in her hand, scowling.

"Kurama did mention that you'd be something like this… I see what he meant when he said you took patience to deal with."

"Where is he?" Naruto asked eagerly.

Tsunade took her own eyes away from Naruto's blue ones.

"We'll get to that. Let me continue. Do you speak Pyroan?"

Naruto nodded.

"Good." Tsunade replied, immediately switching to Pyroan. "I was informed that you were already aware that Kurama is of no blood relation to you."

"Mhmm…"

For a moment, there was silence.

"…Where do you think you were born?"

"Umm… I guess Gurgite Vicus…" Naruto answered without much thought.

"Wrong!" Tsunade belted out the word like a game show hostess.

Naruto crossed his arms and peered at her skeptically. After all, he'd always thought he'd been born there.

"Your mother was from there. However, she moved here as a child, leaving behind her entire family. You were born here, as was your father." She smiled a bit. "You look so much like him."

"I don't know what you're talking about! It's not fair! I don't know anything about either of my parents! Yet you claim to know everything!" What Tsunade was telling him contradicted so many things about Naruto and what he knew about himself. He suddenly felt very small and confused and alone, and he wished so badly right then that Kurama was there to look him in the eyes, silently telling him that it was okay.

Tsunade sighed. "Just listen to me, alright? I know this must be quite confusing to you, but Kurama believes you're old enough to know all of this by now."

Naruto stood abruptly, knocking the chair back. "Where is he? Why isn't he here? Have you done something to him?"

Tsunade stood as well, slamming her hands on her desk. "Maybe if you could shut up for one blasted second I would tell you! Shizune!"

"Yes, my lady!"

"Bring me some sake."

"But…"

"Just do it!"

"Yes!"

Naruto's eyes widened. For someone who looked so fragile and… womanly, this old lady had a lot of fight in her. _She _is_ the leader of the village…_ The boy sat back down. Tsunade followed suite and began speaking again.

"Your mother moved to this village when she was eight, due to war, poverty as a result of war, and strife in her village and country as a whole. She met your father, and your parents—Kushina and Minato—eventually married. You were born here in Vicus in Foliis. Kushina wished to return to Gurgite Vicus so that her relatives could meet her new family. They left with you, despite warnings that it was not safe there.

A certain demon had a long standing grudge against Gurgite Vicus. Generation after generation of your clan—the Uzumaki clan—had tried to hunt him down, for some unspeakable crime he had committed in the past. But the real reason for the clan's anger had long been forgotten. Now people hunted the fox demon for honor and glory, but they also saw him as a dangerous existence that needed to be eliminated. The fox demon finally got sick of mankind's games and flattened not only the clan, but the village as well that, for centuries, had been the thorn in his side. This, Naruto, was the cause of your parents' demise. Kurama mentioned that both of your parents fought him valiantly, and that's is saying something, that your parents stood out to him. He told me that he spared you because you were only an infant and innocent of the turmoil that had swept up your clan. He told me that he taught you as much as possible in the time that he had with you. He requests that you be further trained in the way of hand-to-hand combat, magic, and weapon handling."

"Wait!" Naruto interrupted, jumping up again. "What happened to Kurama?"

"We detained him for crimes against humanity and for being a dangerous existence. Eventually he will be sealed away as a demon—"

"He's not bad!" Naruto shouted angrily. "I mean, I know what he did to Gurgite Vicus… but it sounds justified!"

"It was for him," Tsunade calmly assented, "but do you honestly think that's all he's done?"

Naruto shook his head uncertainly. A blood thirsty aura did indeed always seem to hang around the fox. But perhaps Naruto had simply grown used to it over time… The boy always tended to forget that Kurama was a demon.

"Now, I know this must be a lot for you to have to take in at one time," Tsunade's honey eyes seemed to soften a bit from their prior intensity. "but are we almost on the same page now?"

Honestly, Naruto didn't know what to think about all of this. Actually, he didn't want to think right now at all. He replied with a hesitant affirmative, wanting to mull over the entirety of this later on his own.

"Okay, now listen closely." The Hokage rested her elbows on her desk, lacing her fingers together. "You will be granted an apartment, but will be under house arrest until further notice. The only time you may leave is when someone comes to get you. Is this clear?"

"Umm…" Naruto shifted a bit in his seat, grinning to hide his sudden awkwardness. "What is house arrest?"

Tsunade sighed heavily.

"You cannot leave your apartment. To leave means you are breaking a law. We would know the second that you step outside, no matter where you leave from. However, you will be leaving nearly every day anyway, simply with people who I assign to get you. You need things like food and clothing, for one thing. In addition, I was informed that your magic, weapons and hand-to-hand combat skills need improvement. After a time, you will be able to leave your apartment as you please, and we will go from there."

Most of this went in one ear and out the other.

"Huh?"

"Ugh." Tsunade rubbed her forehead. "Never mind, we'll cross these bridges when we comes to them. Now," she stood up and walked briskly over to the door. She asked Shizune, "Did you get her?"

"Yes, Lady Tsunade."

Shizune opened one of the large doors. In the hall stood a girl, whom Naruto guessed was about his age. He watched her as she glided confidently into the room, sparing him less than a second's glance with bright emerald eyes. She had shoulder-length hair, which Naruto found peculiar because it was a pale shade of pink. But he though she was beautiful, especially with that short, form-fitting red dress she wore.

"Did you have need of me, my Lady?" she queried with a voice like the tinkling of bells.

"Yes I do. This is very important." Tsunade turned to Naruto. "Sakura, this is Naruto Uzumaki. Likewise, Naruto, this is Sakura Haruno, my pupil."

Sakura smiled, her eyes shining brightly. "Hello, Naruto. It's nice to meet you!"

As she spoke, she brushed some of her hair back from her face behind her ear—which was long and pointed.

No wonder she was such a beauty! _She_ was an elf, too!

Sakura crossed her arms and popped her hip out, and her flawless forehead creased with a frown.

"Hey, stupid! Can you talk or not?"

Naruto snapped out of it, his cheeks growing warm.

"Sorry," he grinned, covering it up. "It's nice to meet you too!"

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Sakura, this boy is new in the village. Although he was born here, that was not brought to his attention until now. He was raised on the road as an orphan. However, he already has decent knowledge of the basic skill sets needed to become an apprentice. Now, here is his apartment address." The woman handed a slip of paper to Sakura. "Take him there. Until further notice, he is under house arrest."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Come back and see me, though, once he is settled in. I have more jobs for you today. You may go now."

Sakura nodded and turned to leave. Naruto stood there uncertainly, not really knowing whether or not he should follow. His heart ached to leave Kurama. But Sakura stopped and turned around. She placed a hand on her hip, and asked with an annoyed expression if he was coming or not.

"Oh!" The blonde kept his sorrow well hidden behind a look of surprise and embarrassment, as if he were being pulled from a daydream. "Yeah, sorry."

He followed the pink-haired girl out of the room and down the hall, until she opened a door and stepped into the bright sunlight. Her pale skin almost glittered. The few gossamer strands of her hair that lay upon her neck, he longed to softly brush away with his fingertips. But she was skipping swiftly down the long flight of stairs, and Naruto had to follow. They passed Kotetsu and Izumo once more, who were chatting against the stone wall. Izumo's face was a bit flushed.

"Hey, Sakura!" Naruto caught up to the girl and walked alongside her. "Is that Izumo guy sick? His face is red…"

Sakura stopped her brisk pace immediately, and whipped her head around. Then she rolled her eyes and sighed, but a soft smile had made its way onto her countenance.

"No, he's not sick." She turned to Naruto. "Were you concerned?"

"Well yeah! Of course! I talked to him while my master was talking to Granny Tsunade—"

"Do not address her like that!"

"—in the big building and he seemed like a really nice guy!"

Suddenly the unexpected happened. Sakura punched Naruto. He had to have gone flying at least three feet from where he stood. He sat up in a daze, rubbing his chin.

"Sakura~! What was that for?" he whined.

"It was for disrespecting my master, my Hokage, and my Queen!" Sakura spit back scathingly.

"What…? Queen?"

"She is the most legendary and revered elfin queen to date. While she is the Hokage of our village, she is also the queen of all the elves in the region. Remember that and treat her with more respect, you urchin!" she continued walking.

Naruto lowered his eyes and followed. He didn't really understand what she was saying, but he understood that Granny Tsunade was her master. He tried not to think about that stupid fox. He would lose it if he did.

"I've been informed that tomorrow I will be coming to help you stock up on food. Basically, I'll come pick you up and we'll go grocery shopping. I'll come get you early so that you can have breakfast. Later in the day another person will stop by your apartment and you two will go clothes shopping. You can't get by with two sets of clothes like you have now. It isn't considered civilized." Sakura veered off the main road and headed down an alley. They were soon in a more suburban part of the village. A wooden fence lined the path on both sides.

"You're going to be living up here." Sakura pointed to a rather cheap looking apartment complex.

Naruto had never been in a village like this, but even to him, it looked a bit dingy. The pair hiked up three flights of metal stairs to the top floor. Naruto really liked the view from over the railing here. He could see the Hokage's building, and the mountain where all the shrines were placed. It really was sort of pretty, with the sun beginning to set behind the mountain.

Sakura, however, drew Naruto's attention back from the scenery. There were doors going down in a row on their left, which Naruto suspected were the apartments themselves.

"Here is your apartment, Naruto." She took out a small, silver key and unlocked the door. "I'm not coming in because as you heard, I have more errands to run for Lady Tsunade. But I hope you have everything you need. Remember, you cannot leave unless someone arrives to fetch you for some reason. It will be like this until further notice. Understand?"

Naruto nodded.

"Well then." She flipped her hair a bit and smiled, giving the blonde another chance to admire many of her outstanding features, like her slender wrists and perfect skin. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow!"

Naruto supposed this meant that he was supposed to say good bye. He was lacking a bit in terms of human interaction. So he smiled a bit, and slightly raised one of his hands in a farewell gesture. Sakura seemed to get the idea, and left after seeing Naruto was inside the apartment.

Slowly, Naruto backed inside and shut the door. He turned around to survey his apartment, but he didn't really take much of it in. It was dim inside because the windows were closed, and that was just fine with him.

It was mostly an empty place. Just like him.

Naruto leaned against the door, sighing heavily. He closed his eyes. His breathing just wouldn't remain steady. His knees gradually bent and buckled underneath his body, and he sank to the floor, hanging his head between his knees. A feeling of absolute hopelessness and despair overcame him; silent tears dampened his face, flowing from utterly blank, cerulean eyes.

Naruto had come home.

* * *

**Thanks so much for reading! To clear up any confusion, when the Uchiha Massacre occurred here, Sasuke was five and Naruto would have been 2. So here, Naruto is 14 and Sasuke is 17. There is a 3 year age difference between them and the next chapter will be the last time skip. Sorry for having so many!**

**If anyone is confused, please feel free to ask questions! If I can I will answer it because I may have left something out... :P**

**I really appreciate every review I get, and I make it my policy to reply to each one. So please, if you think I need more editing, or it's too boring (keeping in mind all the important information this chapter contains and it moves the plot along) or you just want to tell me this whole idea sucks, then review! I want to hear the opinion of every single person who reads this! I'll even reply to the anonymous reviews! Some of them, I'll reply with a PM. It just depends. And if I'm posting a oneshot, which this is NOT (obviously), I always reply by PM to every review :3**

*****NOTICE*****

**Please check on my profile for updates about my stories. I will tell you how far I am into writing it, typing it and about when I think I should have it posted. Information about hiatuses and other stories are there as well. IT IS IMPORTANT.**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

* * *

(12 April, 2013) So this chapter has been re-edited as well... Although not too much has been done to it. But it's a good feeling :) I had to go over and explain when people are speaking in other languages, and I figured in this 1st chapter it would be the best time to introduce that sort of thing... if that makes any sense.

Hope you all enjoyed :)


	3. II-The Mission

**_Disclaimer in Prologue_**

**xxxx**

_Place Names: Terra Ventus: Land of Wind (Latin); Arena Vicus: Sand Village (Latin)_

_***Another place is mentioned, but it is annotated as it has no importance as of yet in the story._

**xxxx**_  
_

**Wow. This was a long chapter. I'm sorry it took so long to get out. I took the time to write a Bleach fanfiction for Halloween, and although it was a oneshot I'm actually going to be writing a chapter sequel to it. So I'll be alternating, every other chapter will be this fic. But I think that the Bleach fic's chapters are shorter than this one, as is the story line (for sure!). Thank you all for being so patient!**

**Narutopokefan: Thank you for another review! I didn't really like doing this to Kurama, but you'll see why I did it soon. ;) And also, it may seem like I made it like... how Kurama is in the manga/anime (not personality wise), but it's different. You'll see what I mean in a bit :)**

**xxxx**

**So I made this coin conversion chart... Yes, I made my own monetary system. Kind of. I'm having too much fun. **Actually, I originally posted this in chapter 4. But then I realized, money appears here first... So I was like. Hey. And yeah. I'll put a conversion chart in each chapter coming up now... I'll put a conversion chart in chapter 3 once I edit that again :P**

**_$0.10: 1 sídero (gold)_**

**_$1.00: 1 chalkós (silver) (slang: jack, scratch; jack used as plural form, and also referring to money/coin in general; scratch is singular, used only for _****_chalkós_**)

**_$10.00: 1 as_****_ími (copper)_****_  
_**

**_$100.00: 1 chrysós (iron) (slang: ferr; in Latin iron=ferrum, thus "ferr")_**

******It's really a simple system, based on the units of ten. So like, if you had 7 ****chalkós (about $7), you'd have 70 ****síderos. If you had 10 ************chalkós, that's the same as having 1 ****as****ími. Kinda easy to understand? Just refer to this if you get confused, and I'll be putting this conversion... list? chart? thing on each chapter for a bit, just so you don't get frustrated or anything. Remember it's okay to ask me questions about random stuff. Even I get confused sometimes, and I'm writing this! (Comforting, isn't it?)**

**xxxx**

**Please check my profile for updates on where I am with my fanfictions, like it might say I've only outlined so far, or I'm halfway through writing, or I'm done typing and I've started to finalize it. Please utilize my profile! I make it so that you know where I am and you know that I am working on my fics!**

**Reviews are wanted, needed, and much appreciated :)**

_**Enjoy~**_

_**~Xsnow~stormX~**_

* * *

It was cold. The smell of mold and death permeated the air like years of nuclear radiation. You could feel the contamination in your eyes, on your skin, under your nails.

Footsteps echoed down a black hallway, shadows clamored up the walls, attempting to escape.

A head lifted numbly, rather indifferently, as the echo of feet splashing through shallow, polluted puddles reached him through rusted iron bars. He rested his head against the moist stone wall and closed his eyes.

Yes. This was the night.

A flickering light was shown against his face, and although his eyes remained closed, the torches blinded him. Even so, he did not react.

"Is he dead?" a nervous, timorous male inquired.

"Impossible. It is a demon." A gruffer, more masculine voice answered.

The light receded a bit, and he felt soft hands working away near his neck. The thick silence that now filled the room was cut harshly by the clinking of iron on iron. Finally, the man felt a tugging on his chaffing throat. His metal bound hands couldn't catch or stabilize himself, so he fell forward, his face hitting the dirt. His eyes, notwithstanding, remained closed, and he felt a damp warmth mingling with the mud and mire on his face. Laughter filled his ears. He was pulled roughly upright by the neck, and jerked forward so violently that he almost fell again.

Yet he would not open his eyes.

After being in that cell for three years, his hair stuck to his skin in dirty, oily patches. He reeked glaringly of his own excrement. Like some kind of animal, he could smell the blood from his neck and ankles. The chains that bound his feet clinked around and made it difficult to walk.

They stopped. All was quiet but for the dripping of dirty water onto stone floor. For many minutes, it seemed, it was absolutely silent.

Then, the man heard something. It was grating on the ears; stone against stone, but it seemed a heavy struggle as it moved so slowly. When the noise stopped, there was a sudden breath of fresh, cool air in the man's face. He was pushed forward, and they continued moving.

Someone rapped on a hollow sounding surface. It was probably a door, because the man heard a loud creaking noise as though old hinges were trying to shift.

"Is everything prepared?" The soft, timorous sounding man requested.

"Yes, sir. Now…" A new voice; and this person's gaze had fallen upon the man—he could feel it, and it was penetrating even his closed eyes. The speaker was suspicious. "Now…" the person continued. "if we are to continue with this, we must finish it quickly."

After the person said that, it seemed as though everyone shifted and took on a new position in the room.

"Ready…"

"One… Two… Three—"

The second the man's collar was ripped off, his red eyes snapped open. He did not perceive sight, however. The only thing that he registered was their screams.

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

Waves smacked roughly against the wooden beams of the boardwalk, and Naruto squinted in the bright sunlight. The waves were so harsh, and yet the sky was so very clear. In front of him, beyond the paradox of sky and sea, was a lush green forest. Further, he could see large rolling hills, shimmering in the distance as tall grass danced in the wind.

It was so peacefully beautiful, and he wanted to go there. Nevertheless, after expending but a few steps, he stopped. He couldn't quite put a finger on what it was, but it was inside him. It seemed to be gently tugging him, like a string or a rope, through his very core, back the other way. So Naruto turned around.

Far, far away, there was what looked like a staircase just sitting smack in the middle of the boardwalk. He was sure that there was some reason that he felt like he had to go back, and he felt very strongly that it was up this mysterious staircase. Whatever it was, he would find it, no problem.

He walked, and he walked, and he walked, not pausing to look at any of the roaring whirlpools or gurgling eddies that he passed. He walked for what seemed like hours. The thought of turning back didn't even enter Naruto's mind.

Finally, and perhaps even suddenly, he was at the bottom of the stairs, his blue eyes mirroring the sky as he looked up at the long and possibly infinite staircase. It disappeared out of sight beyond the clouds.

Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Naruto began to climb.

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

Kurama opened his eyes. There was no noise about him, and the silence was very near to being deafening. An expression of confusion mingled with anxiety flitted briefly across his visage as he glanced around at the soft whiteness that surrounded him. Slowly, he stood up, a bit unsteady on his feet. He took a quick 360 of the area and stopped, spotting a hole in the colorless cotton candy floor. He stepped closer. Strange—it was though he was pulled toward it.

He peeked over the edge. There was nothing but what appeared to be a vast ocean underneath him. Still, his blood boiled for reasons unknown to him.

So he sat there on the edge of this precipice, though for what reason he didn't know. But what else was there to do? Eventually though, he opted for lying down, although he never managed to fall asleep. A loud gasp caused Kurama to open his eyes, and before the lethargic demon could register what was happening, he was tackled with a flash of blonde hair and a joyous cry.

"Kurama!"

Said demon blinked, prying Naruto off of his person. "Hmph." He brushed himself off nonchalantly. "I suppose this means my little spell worked. But I must admit I didn't expect to be seeing you this soon."

"Wait. What?" The confusion was so evident on Naruto's face that Kurama bit back a smirk.

"Dull boy." He flicked Naruto's forehead. "I've been imprisoned by your village leader for three years, yes?"

Naruto nodded, suddenly looking quite sullen.

"Well, early in those three years I created a curse." The blonde's eyes widened in horror. "Stupid boy," Kurama sighed in exasperation. "I am a demon. Am I supposed to practice only White Magic? Anyhow, this was an ocular curse. I prepared it and allowed it to lie dormant in my eyes until it was needed. I was unfortunate enough to receive a collar which contained my powers as a demon. But luckily, they didn't think that I might know any magic other than Old Order Black Magic."

Naruto began to question just what exactly this was, but Kurama absently waved him off. "It's nothing that _you_ need to know about. To continue, I was, in essence, a human with magical powers." Kurama became quiet for a few seconds, allowing all of the information he had thrown at Naruto to soak in.

"So what happened?" the blonde eventually prompted.

"Well, as a demon, no one ever came near my cell as I did not need to be fed. So when I did hear someone coming, I quickly shut my eyes and cast the curse. I kept my eyes shut until they took the collar off, and when I opened my eyes, the curse was upon them. They all fell and perished, and my soul immediately flew from my body in search of you."

"And… now we're… where?" Naruto gestured vaguely around him.

"Inside your soul, you idiot." Kurama replied.

"So…" Naruto made a face, trying to understand the situation. "Your soul," he gestured to Kurama, "is inside my soul… which is where we are right now…?"

"Correct."

"What's with all of this… stuff?" Naruto asked, gesturing even more wildly by waving his arms all around him. "I mean, there's this big ass forest out there and some big ass sea with these big ass whirlpools and then there's _this_!"

"It's you."

"Huh?"

"The forest is your father, which is a combination of wind, earth, and lightning. The ocean and whirlpools are your mother; a combination of water and wind. This, here, is the element that your spirit is aligned with: wind."

Naruto pursed his lips. "But I see clouds…"

Kurama closed his eyes and delicately rubbed his forehead and the bridge of his nose. "I guess I missed you a bit, kit." He said, with only a slightly annoyed smile.

The biggest grin the demon had ever seen appeared on his blonde protégé's face, when he suddenly disappeared.

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

The morning sunlight greeted Naruto coyly through the blinds as he opened his eyes. He batted his blaring alarm clock to the floor, and let his arm simply hang off of the edge of his bed. All he wanted to do was turn over and go back to sleep. He missed Kurama desperately. The dream he had just been awakened from was a cruel reminder of the fact that this village in which he now lived had taken his master from him.

Naruto closed his eyes. His body felt like a lead weight. He took a slow, labored breath, and heaved himself out of bed, planting his feet unsteadily on the floor. He had a mission today.

Wandering into the bathroom, he splashed cold water onto his face and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked older now at seventeen, less childlike than he did when he first arrived. He scowled. He also had dark circles under his eyes…

…Come to think of it, today was the anniversary of his arrival to the village. Not that he would ever celebrate that or anything.

Shedding his pajamas while he walked to the kitchen/dining area of his apartment, Naruto wondered idly what kind of mission he would receive today, and if he would be teamed with anyone. He would do it if Tsunade asked. He liked her a lot.

Chugging some milk, he trudged back into his room and dug through some clothes on the floor. He found each item he wanted and laid them out carefully on his mussed bed before putting them on.

He first put on a tank top. It was of a mesh-like material in appearance, and it was very flexible and ultimately, wearable. But the thing that was almost unnoticeable to the wearer was that it was made out of an extremely lightweight and malleable metal. So it worked as armor. It was called cancellus**[1]**. Naruto found it fascinating, and before he'd come here he'd never seen anything like it.

He pulled on a pair of baggy, brightly colored orange cargo pants next, and then sat down afterwards to put on his black combat boots. They were tall, and he had to lace them up and tuck his pants down into them. But, his pants sort of...poofed out of them anyway. After his boots were tied, he walked over to his dresser and picked up a necklace. It was an oblong, blue crystal attached to a thin black leather strap. Naruto closed his eyes and put it on. It had been Kurama's.

Next he put on a pair of black fingerless gloves that allowed him to grip his weapons well, and then a jacket, which hung on the door. He slung the jacket on while looking in the mirror, and, popping the high collar, he grinned rather wolfishly. But the grin quickly faded and he stuck his tongue out at himself.

"Stop trying to be cool."

But he couldn't help it. The jacket was white, and had wide sleeves that came down to his elbows, plus a big Uzumaki clan symbol on the back. He's been told many a time that he looked like his father when he wore it.

Finally, he looked over to his three swords in the far corner of the room. They had become like his lovers in the past three years that he'd spent here. He'd made wonderful friends, but these swords resonated with him. They had gone through the same battles that he had, and experienced the same pain that he had, and also the pride and excitement of triumph in battle. They moved with him, and were a part of him, and would never betray him.

He drifted to them as if magnetized by them, and reached out to caress the hilt of his claymore. He called the sword Donovan**[2]**. It was common to name your weapons. After all, they would never betray you. He clipped a thick brown leather strap across his body, and slung the large sword—hilt on the left side—across his back. He then snapped a black belt around his waist, and hung his two rapiers, Maeve**[3]** and Armyne**[4]**, from his left hip.

Walking out the door, Naruto vaguely realized that he was probably going to be late. Even so, he wanted some coffee.

A bell tinkled as he opened the door to The Heavenly Cup**[5]**. He raised his eyebrows a bit in momentary surprise when he saw the man who was waiting to have his order taken. Through a short sleeved cancellus, Naruto could see a large Nara clan emblem tattooed onto the man's upper back.

He grinned. "Morning, Shikamaru."

The man glanced uninterestedly over his shoulder at the blonde, his sleek, black hair falling over his shoulder blades like a curtain. "Hey." He turned around again to order his coffee.

Here was just another reason for Naruto to be a bit moody this morning. Not only was he dealing with the three year anniversary that Kurama was taken from him, he had also recently been coming to terms with the fact that he was gay. Not the feminine, flamboyant sort, though. The very thought of becoming like _that _made him cringe. He was simply… gay. And one of the people that he found most attractive was thrown in front of him, this morning, of all mornings. He had a thing for dark hair and dark eyes. Not Shikamaru. Just how he looked. Naruto shuddered at that thought, as well. _Me and Shikamaru... I think I might throw up... or die... or both..._

_Either way, of course he'd be here right now, _he thought, scowling deeply. But the moment Shikamaru turned to Naruto with his coffee, the blonde was all smiles. He was by no means a weak young man. He may not have been in the best of spirits, but he wouldn't dare to let others know it, lest he allow himself to be bombarded by all of those annoying, but well-intentioned questions.

He stepped up to the counter and ordered a medium vanilla hazelnut cappuccino, with non-fat milk. There was a bit of a line behind him at this point, so he moved over to allow other people to order while he waited on his drink.

As he waited for his order, Shikamaru stepped up to him. "So, how have you been doing?" He asked, but he seemed fairly unconcerned.

"Fine, fine." Naruto smiled politely. "Yourself? Oh! Your mom, how is she doing?" The blonde figured he may as well make some attempt at conversation if the guy was bothering to talk to him.

"Oh, she's doing better," Shikamaru smiled a bit, and Naruto was pleased to see that it was one of his rarer, genuine smiles. "Thank you for asking. I'm fine as well. The Hokage is keeping me busy, but…"

"What?" Naruto took his coffee from the brewer, thanking her.

The two walked out the door, and continued speaking.

"Whenever I think about how busy I am, I think of Sakura, and I feel terrible for her. Tsunade runs her totally ragged. I recently moved out of my house, which is a great thing, but also an inconvenience since the property my clan owns is what we use to create spells and various brews with—but anyway that's neither here nor there. I pay rent with Choji in a duplex, right? And we live pretty near to Sakura's apartment duplex. Sometimes, when we're hanging out on the porch, just drinking and smoking, and it's really late, or maybe we've had people over, sometimes she'll drag herself home around two in the morning. Then the next morning I wake up around seven and she's already gone."

This was very worrying to Naruto. As much as he and Sakura argued and bantered, they were as close as siblings. And, something that neither of them would ever admit to anyone, including each other, Sakura had almost taken up a motherly role to Naruto.

He appreciated it. He appreciated her.

"You should talk to her…" Shikamaru continued, looking at Naruto seriously. "You're the only one she would really listen to, as little as she listens to anyone. I have a feeling that what I'm seeing isn't just Tsunade's doing."

"Yeah…" Naruto replied pensively, "Sakura _would_ be one to work herself half to death—probably over hospital patients."

"Mhmm." After a short silence, Shikamaru asked, "So, we're headed to the Hokage building, right?"

"Yep! I got a mission!" The blonde announced enthusiastically.

"Ah. I wonder…"

"What?" Naruto's curiosity was peaked. "What is it?"

The raven haired man snickered. "Sometimes you are such a kid. But I was just wondering if it was any mission that I had heard about."

"Like?"

Shikamaru shrugged, and looked up at the sky as if it held the answer. Naruto didn't press any further. He knew Shikamaru wouldn't respond.

However, Shikamaru surprised Naruto by saying, "I will say this much—and I'm only saying this because you're bound to hear about it sooner or later. The south is getting rather… unstable."

"Do you mean Terra Ventus or Terra Fluctus**[6]**?"

"Well, mostly Terra Ventus, but the unrest could spread to Terra Fluctus. I can't divulge the reason, however. But take care about the desert, alright? There are troublesome things there that you can't always beat down with a sword."

Naruto looked carefully at Shikamaru. There weren't many times when he saw this side of his friend: this serious, strategic, military leader side of him.

Shikamaru offered a small smile to lighten the mood. "Well, I'm off." He waved. "I hope your mission is interesting."

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned and waved farewell as the raven haired man walked off down a side street.

He was so close to the Hokage building, he could see the base of it. He would reach it in perhaps five minutes.

"Naruto!"

_Aww, shit._

Naruto didn't even have to look to see who was yanking his arm out of its socket.

"Sakura… what the hell are you doing? I'm late for a meeting with the Hokage!"

"I know!" The pinkette growled at him, her murderous glare effectively silencing him. "That is why I was looking for you."

"Oh…"

She let go of him at the base of the stairs and stared the blonde down. "Lady Tsunade, Lee and I were in here waiting for you! How dare you!"

"Easy, Sakura!" Naruto made placating motions with his hands, desperately begging her without words not to hit him.

She scoffed, and, flicking her long, pearlescent hair over her shoulder (Naruto suddenly recalled how, three years ago, it was much shorter.), she turned around and began skipping up the large stone stairs two at a time.

"Lucky for you, you were not the only one who was late. You're simply more unreliable than the other, so I was sent out to look for you." She called to him over her shoulder.

Naruto knew Sakura well enough to know that she really wasn't that angry, so he relaxed a bit. She was simply acting this way to ensure that she gave him the proper dose of scolding, for, in this case, being late. Naruto smiled a bit. He remembered how he used to be so attracted to her. She was so cute, with her sweet smiles and those little red and white dresses that she would wear. But at some point she began developing a darker style. Today, over top of a short-sleeved cancellus, she wore a red tube top with the Haruno clan symbol on the back. She wore a white mini skirt with black shorts underneath, and a long black cloak, usually tied around her waist and sort of bunching up there a little. It hung pretty low in the back and on the sides. She wore these black gloves that sort of softened the impact of her terrifyingly hard punches, so that she wouldn't hurt herself with her own strength. She also wore knee high, steel-toed combat boots, so that to Naruto at least, both her punches and her kicks were extremely manly and scary.

She was an impossible woman for any guy to have. They'd have had to be able to handle her personality, and he hadn't met anyone thus far who could. He hoped she would find someone like that, though. It was much more likely than him finding… the right _guy_ for himself. Oh man, that was still just _so_ difficult to think about freely.

But in front of him there were those big old, oaken doors. This was not the time to be thinking of petty personal problems. He quickly cleared his mind to make room for the situation at hand.

"Lady Tsunade," Sakura addressed her master as she strode into the room. "I located Naruto as you requested."

"Good, Sakura. Thank you." The Hokage glared moodily at the door, raising an elegant eyebrow. "Your other member still hasn't arrived yet."

"Would you like for me to get her as well, ma'am?" Sakura inquired.

"No, no. Both of you, go over there and talk with Lee while you wait." Tsunade pressed the call button on her desk. "Could you please send Shizune into my office?"

"Yes, Lady Hokage." A male voice replied through the speaker.

Naruto immediately went over to Lee. They were good friends, but Lee was a pretty weird kid. He was an energetic youth with the largest eyebrows Naruto had ever seen in his life, and an obsessive love of green. Although odd, he was the most dedicated worker that the blonde had ever met. His green tank top showed off his lean, muscled arms; and underneath, there was a long sleeved cancellus that stopped in the middle of his forearms. His green pants were light-weight and airy, and they were also a bit baggy. His long, black hair was tied back in a braid. His outfit was perfect for physical combat, which is what he did best. The only weapon he had was a machete that hung at his side. He couldn't even manage magic. But that's why he worked so hard on physical skills. His hands were bandaged, but Naruto knew that those bandages covered up not just fresh wounds but also old scars from training and doing battle.

"Hey, Lee."

"Naruto!" Lee pounced on the blonde as soon he noticed him. "I haven't seen you for so long! I am very excited to be going on this mission with you!"

Naruto laughed. "You better not slow us down, got it?"

Lee glared. "The only one who will be a hindrance is you!" Now it was Naruto's turn to glare. "Soon enough, I will have you eating your words!"

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that."

"Boys, calm down." Sakura said with a condescending smile. "We don't even know what the mission is, yet."

"Doesn't matter!" The two boys said in unison.

"Naruto will definitely fail somehow!"

"How come I'm the one who has to fail?"

Sakura laughed. "You're getting kind of worked up over this, Naruto. Are you… _afraid _you actually _will_ be a hindrance?"

"Of course not!" Naruto's eyes widened. "Hey! How come everyone's ganging up on me?" His eyes turned pleadingly to Sakura.

Just then, the door opened, and all eyes turned to the front of the room.

"Oh," Tsunade sighed as the tension immediately dissipated. "It's just you, Shizune."

"Yes…" She looked uncertain, and her dark eyes shot over to wear the group of adolescents stood. "Were you waiting for someone else?"

"I was, but make no mistake, I did call for you. Please prepare me some sake, and I am finished with these documents on my desk, with the exception of the one that I hold in my hand."

"Yes, ma'am." The woman nodded and went over to the large cabinet on the side of the room opposite Sakura, Naruto and Lee.

"Shizune really dislikes me…" Naruto muttered to the other two.

"This is because you seem to have a habit of causing trouble, Naruto." Lee returned.

Sakura nodded in agreement. The blonde crossed his arms, sulking. He didn't really want to talk much since Shizune was in the room.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the shattering of glass was heard.

Standing in the doorway was a woman holding both doors wide open with her arms. There was a dangerous, almost venomous smirk on her pale, angular visage, her chocolate eyes almost pinning Naruto to the spot with an intense, mercurial gaze. He realized that he had never seen this woman before. She was much more voluptuous than Sakura, with reasonably bigger breasts. She wore a black, scoop neck belly shirt, and a short necklace with what appeared to be a silver fang hanging above the neckline of the shirt. She obviously wore a long sleeved cancellus underneath because Naruto could see it peeking out from between it and her black miniskirt. She wore black fingerless gloves, and black thigh high boots. The woman also wore a grey trench coat with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing the long sleeves of her cancellus. Strapped to her back was a large black, green and white double-bladed battle axe. It was really quite eye catching.

"Oi! I'm here pretty late, huh?" Her smirk widened into a grin as she swaggered into the room, past Shizune who was frantically picking up pieces of glass and cleaning up spilled sake.

"Yes, you are late." Tsunade glowered at the woman.

"Heh, sorry. I came back from a mission early this morning, so I accidentally woke up late. Plus I had to clean and sharpen Haldana**[7]** before I came."

Tsunade half groaned, half sighed in annoyance. "Everyone, this is Anko Mitarashi. She will be your squad leader for this mission."

Anko grinned. "Hey, kids."

Naruto and Sakura exchanged skeptical glances.

"I saw that." Anko trapped them with her burning gaze.

"As much as she may not seem like it, Anko is a very capable leader and I trust her greatly. Once she is on a mission she is completely goal-oriented."

"That's right." Anko agreed, still staring down Sakura and Naruto. "And if any of you somehow, by any means, slow us down, I will not hesitate to leave you behind." Her seriousness was sudden, but it didn't truly surprise Naruto. The look in her eyes was fierce, so even as she acted goofy and a bit clumsy, it seemed as though she was really a snake that was coiled to strike at any moment.

Tsunade shuffled some papers around on her desk, and traded Shizune those papers for some sake. Holding up one particular document, she spoke. "Your mission is to travel to Terra Ventus, and go to that country's capital city of Arena Vicus. Naruto, for your benefit, I'll say that the leader of the city, like me, is a Kage, but is called the Kazekage instead of Hokage."

Naruto nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed that she would have to say that for his sake.

"Anyhow, the mission concerns the Kazekage. You must hurry because he's in danger of having his power usurped, reason being that he is possessed by a demon. This is where Sakura comes in. She will exorcize the Kazekage of the demon and help him to recuperate afterward. Sakura," Tsunade directly addressed her pupil. "your most important job, even before exorcism, is the personal protection of the Kazekage. This particular part of the mission, for you, is in effect until he is back on his feet. Anko, Lee, and Naruto will work with the Kazekage's two siblings. Your jobs," Tsunade now addressed those she'd just mentioned. "will be to protect the Kazekage from the council and the elders, and help patrol the city borders. I understand that the Kazekage's elder sister, Temari, will be acting in the place of the Kazekage until Sakura deems him ready to return to his duties. Are we clear?"

"Yes, ma'am." They replied in unison.

Anko took an official Vicus in Foliis ID from Tsunade, signifying that they were on an official mission. This would also serve as a passport.

"Do you all have everything you need?" Anko asked as she turned to the three teenagers.

"Yep!"

"Of course! Let's go!"

"Mhmm."

Anko looked at Sakura skeptically. "Hey, girl, you don't seem to have a weapon on you."

Sakura smiled sweetly—too sweetly. Naruto could practically see the time bomb ticking down the seconds to explosion.

"I assure you, miss, I have _everything_ that I need—including a weapon."

Anko raised an eyebrow. "Really, now? You mean more than just your fists and those scary lookin' boots, there?"

Sakura's smile turned into a death glare. She had reached under her skirt and onto her hip, grabbing a paper out of some sort of pocket in her shorts. It unfurled, and immediately there was a large black mace in the girl's hands. But the startling things was that this all happened in little over a second.

She smirked. "Is this alright, or is this still not good enough? If it's not good enough, why don't you request that someone else be put on your squad?"

Anko grinned wickedly. "No, no, it's quite good."

"It's heavy so I don't keep it out for extended periods of time. I summon it when I need it." Sakura made a threatening fist. "Usually I don't, though."

"Hmm… No wonder you've never had a boyfriend. You're not only too manly; you're scary as well!" Anko laughed.

"Hey! Don't you dare talk to Sakura like that!" Naruto growled in a fury.

"Guys…" Tsunade growled. "I can always assign someone else for this mission if you four cannot get along." Tsunade glared at Anko. "Be the adult, Anko. You're more mature than this. Act like it."

Anko frowned, almost appearing guilty. "I apologize, ma'am. I got carried away teasing them. Oh, well. Since we're all ready, let's head out." Anko paused, though, for a moment, and glanced in Sakura's direction. "By the way, girly, I haven't had a boyfriend myself for the exact same reasons." Grinning, she hustled out the door with her long, grey trench coat billowing out behind her.

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

Fatigue set in with each step that Naruto took. The foliage had become sparser, with tall, swaying grass making it difficult to journey quickly and efficiently to their first stopping point. Naruto wiped sweat off of his forehead, looking ahead in weary awe as Lee and Anko kept up a brisk pace, Lee even enthusiastically taking the lead. That kid both amused and amazed him to no end. Naruto looked back at Sakura.

"You doing okay? It's getting a little toasty."

Sakura glared at him. "I'm fine. I'm short so I'm having a hard time getting through all this grass…"

Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Lee sure is amazing, huh? If my best friend was a genius like Neji, I could never be as driven as Lee is." Sakura sighed wistfully. "Maybe that's why I'm not really as strong as I could—or should—be."

"Why?"

"Because my rival isn't… She doesn't try as hard as I do. She used to, but now it's more like… I don't know. It's hard to explain."

Naruto nodded. He could say that he didn't know what it was like to have a rival. Ever since he came to Vicus in Foliis, he had simply been trying to prove himself to everyone.

"Look up ahead!" Anko shouted back at Naruto and Sakura. "It's the inn we're going to stay in tonight."

All it was, was a small, black speck on the horizon. They could hardly see it because the sun was setting behind them, and looking for this little black speck on this dark indigo backdrop was akin to looking for the silver among an abundance of nickel.

Sakura giggled, and Naruto looked at her. "What? What is it?"

"You're squinting really hard. It looks funny." She grinned.

"Yeah… Well…" Naruto laughed too. "I don't know. It's just hard to see that crappy little inn we're supposed to be sleeping at tonight. I just hope it has hot and cold water."

Sakura nodded emphatically. "Me too! The desert gets cold at night. If it doesn't have heat, we'll have to sleep in the same bed to warm up!"

Naruto glanced at her again, repulsed. But she laughed. "I'm just kidding! We'll probably be staying in separate rooms or something, anyway."

The blonde rolled his eyes, and they walked the rest of the way in silence. But it wasn't a very long walk at that point, for it was getting visibly closer each step they took. They hurried, though, because it was also becoming colder and darker.

Outwardly, the inn appeared to be a small, dilapidated wooden building, with many broken boards and beams.

Sakura leaned into Naruto, her breath tickling his neck. "We're staying in this piece of shit?"

"I guess…" Naruto breathed, a bit disgusted.

They headed inside with the others, to be met on the other side of the door by an alarmingly fat, greasy looking man.

"What bidniss ya'ave?" he groused in rough Pyroan.

"We need rooms. We will be staying the night." Anko replied.

The man turned and shuffled back behind the counter. He bent over and fumbled around for something, but soon stood and slammed 2 keys on the counter. He did not remove his hand from them.

"Fourteen jack."

Anko scowled, but handed over the requested amount of coin. In return he gave her the keys and sent them off with an aggressive wave of his hand.

"Pretty pricey for this dump..." Anko grumbled once the old man was out of earshot. "Anyway, Sakura, you're rooming with me, and Naruto and Lee are rooming together." She tossed them a key. "Let's all get a bit freshened up, then we'll meet in—" she checked her key for her room number. "Room number nine. You guys got it?"

The boys nodded, already headed toward their own room, number fourteen.

"Naruto!" Lee crowed as soon as the room was unlocked. "This is going to be so much fun! I cannot wait to enter the desert and fight bandits and unspeakable monsters and defend Arena Vicus and watch belly dancing and—"

"Lee." Naruto massaged the bridge of his nose. "You know, I plan on sleeping tonight, so do me a favor and calm your tits."

They had begun to peel off their sweat-stuck clothing, and Naruto had entered the bathroom and flicked on a light. Of course it didn't work. Light or no, he peed anyway. Beside him at the sink, Lee was fuming.

"I most certainly do _not_ have these tits you speak of, Naruto!" He splashed water on his face, but was soon shoved away by Naruto so that the blonde could wash his hands.

"It's just an expression, dummy."

Lee lifted his head haughtily. "Well please refrain from referring to me in this feminine manner!"

Naruto laughed. "A little insecure about your masculinity? 'Cuz that's what it sounds like!"

"I most certainly am not!" Lee snarled, his eyes flashing menacingly.

"Are you sure?" The blonde leaned in closely, almost seductively. "Ya know… I'm pretty sure –this—guy—here," Naruto poked Lee in the chest with each word. "has _never_ had a girlfriend."

At the sudden look of murder in Lee's eyes, Naruto knew a second too late that he had gone too far. He sped out of their room in his half dressed state with Lee close on his heels, and he threw himself against the door of room number nine.

"Sakura!" He screamed, his voice a pitch above where it should be.

Just as the door opened, Lee collided into Naruto's back and they both came crashing into the room together—right on top of Sakura. The three were still in a tangled mess when Anko came upon them, looming with one manicured eyebrow raised in question.

"Uh…" Sakura detangled herself from the rabble and stood, awkwardly brushing herself off.

Naruto and Lee just kept on laughing—that is, until Sakura came behind them and smacked them both in the back of the head.

Naruto glared. "Sakura…"

"What children…"

"Okay, okay," Anko expressed a faint smirk at these youths' shenanigans. "Gather round kids."

Everyone assembled themselves so that they sat around Anko on the floor, and they set their minds to the task at hand.

"Okay," she began. "Tomorrow at some point—most likely before noon if we leave early enough—we will enter the desert." Anko's manner had become quite serious, and she dragged her intense gaze slowly across each person: from Naruto, to Sakura, to Lee. "This is going to be a long, difficult journey. Food and water is scarce, so we must ration what we have until we enter another town. There are two oases along the way to Arena Vicus, one of which has a larger town than the other. Understand so far?"

They nodded.

"Now, there will be bandits and other foul beings along the way. These creatures—excluding the bandits—are truly perversions of nature, the likes of which you have never seen before. Nevertheless, it's the bandits you've got to worry about." Naruto sensed the mood becoming ominous. "Do not assume that every single one you encounter is just a petty thief. Do not start fights with people. If they're looking for a fight, don't take the bait. At the moment, there are two large clans of bandits who are warring for control over the desert. The Kazekage has managed to keep them away from Arena Vicus, but since he is currently incapacitated, the capital stands vulnerable. It is imperative that you not get involved with those bandits. Think of them as being involved in a mafia war, except that it takes place in a desert, rather than a city."

"I have a question." Sakura interjected.

"Yes?"

"Don't the people in Terra Ventus speak a different language?"

Anko laughed. "Not a problem. You know two languages, don't you?"

"Well I know four, but yes?" Sakura answered.

Anko chuckled again. "Of course, because you also know the two elfish dialects… But you also know Pyroan**[8]**, our native language. And you went to school, so you also know another very special language, called Latin. It is special because it is a language that is considered "dead", since no country speaks it—natively, at least—any longer. The countries that spoke Latin don't exist today, and haven't for many, many years—even before The End. Anyway, those in Terra Ventus speak a language called Anapnoi**[9]**. Like us, all of those who are educated speak Latin. It's like that in all countries. Make sense?"

Sakura nodded vigorously.

"Wow, Sakura!" Lee exclaimed. "I never would have thought to ask that question!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Well, it's kind of important for us to be able to communicate, ya know."

Anko chuckled. "Anyway… I guess we'll see you boys bright and early tomorrow morning!"

Naruto and Lee said goodnight, then took their leave of the women. Back in their rooms, Naruto flopped onto his bed with a dull thump.

"The world is… way stranger than I imagined."

Lee shrugged. "Just how much of the world have you seen?"

"Well… I've always been moving, ever since I can remember. But I never really interacted with anyone where we went, so I didn't know much about where I was, or even when we left one country into another." The blonde sighed wistfully. It was probably one of the only things that he regretted about his time with Kurama.

"Well," Lee appeared to be thinking deeply. "I suppose… If someone like you were to understand the world, then I think that the world would be full of imbeciles."

It took a second for Naruto to actually get it. But when he did, he playfully threw his pillow at Lee, shouting, "Hey!"

Grinning, Lee threw Naruto's pillow back at him, and the blonde stuck his tongue out.

"Go to sleep, Naruto."

"Yes, Mother."

Naruto closed his eyes, hearing Lee huff. The blonde smiled and turned over, allowing the sweet, calm darkness of slumber to wash over him.

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

That night again, Naruto dreamt of that place; so full of sunshine, the smell of forest and the roar of an angry sea. Now Naruto knew what to do. He traveled without hesitation down the boardwalk and up the steps, high into the clouds.

Sure enough, he found his haughty, red haired master sitting not far off from the top of the stair case. He appeared to be in deep meditation.

A wave of childish mischief came over Naruto, and he carefully tip toed behind Kurama, ready to pounce.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you."

Naruto drooped like a scolded puppy. "No fair. I was so quiet!"

Kurama turned to face the blonde with a pointed look, and then he leaned back into a pile of white fluff.

Eventually, Naruto asked, "…Why am I here again? I fell asleep, right? Is this a dream? But wait—if this is a dream, why am I asking you?" His brain was beginning to feel like it might explode.

Kurama rolled his eyes. "Obviously, you, being the dim-witted human you are, didn't understand when I told you last time. I transferred my spirit into yours, so now I am essentially living inside you. I see everything you do, and hear everything that you think."

"…So…" Naruto struggled to comprehend his situation. "You are… I'm not dreaming?"

"No."

"Oh! Wait. This is… pretty creepy. I mean, you can see when I piss, or hear my perverted thoughts… and worse!" But suddenly, the blonde's face lit up in smug excitement. "Can I tap into your powers to become stronger?"

The fox scowled. "Of course not, fool. Even if you were on the brink of death, our powers are separate from each other. Understand, my spirit is inside your spirit, but as a separate entity. Are we clear?"

"Yeah… I guess… Somewhat…"

"Ugh." Kurama rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Anyway, I called you here because—"

"You called me here?"

Kurama positively radiated bloody murder. "Naruto…" he growled softly.

The blonde gulped, squeaking out an apology.

"As I was saying," Kurama bit out softly through clenched teeth. "I called you here because you are about to go on a very dangerous journey. You are not taking Anko's warning about the bandits seriously enough. You must take great care when you enter the desert. The desert in Terra Ventus is one of the most dangerous places in the world, climate and otherwise."

"…And otherwise?"

Kurama nodded. "That is all." He dismissed the blonde with an arrogant wave of his hand. "Sleep."

* * *

**_A/N:_**

**_1) Cancellus: Latin for lattice, bars, barrier, enclosure, boundaries, enclosure_**

**_2) Donovan: Pronounced DAH-na-vun. Irish/Gaelic meaning: dark; brown-haired chieftain. American meaning: strong fighter_**

**_3) Maeve: Pronounced MAY-vee. Original form: Meadhbh. Of Celtic origin; meaning – "intoxicating". The powerful and legendary warrior queen of pre-Christian Ireland; described in the "Tain" as tall & fair & carrying an iron sword._**

**_4) Armyne: Pronounced ar-MEEN; variant of Armine; meaning – "soldier"._**

**_5) The Heavenly Cup: My favorite town coffee shop. I'm pretty sure it's not a chain._**

**_6) Terra Fluctus: The Land of Waves in Latin. I'm not sure if/when it will be included. And I realize it's geologically wrong in comparison to the show/manga. Maybe I purposefully did that. This ain't your teen mama's Naruto._**

**_7) Haldana: The name of Anko's double bladed battle axe. It's a girl's name. It's of Old Norse origin, and it means "Half Danish". In ancient Britain, the Danes were fierce and frequent invaders. This is also a bit of homage to Denmark of Hetalia :) He is very loud and fierce and boisterous, and he carries an axe as well._**

**_8) Pyroan: Otherwise, pyro, or fire. Basically, they speak Greek. I just picked this word because it works... Ya know... Terra Ignis/Land of Fire... Pyro... Yeah. :P_**

**_9) Anapnoi: The people in the Terra Ventus speak Arabic. I translated (using Google translate :P) the word "breath" from English, to Arabic, to Greek, and this is the phonetic spelling of the word. I will always spell things like that phonetically. Ironically, "Pyro" for "Pyroan" is exactly how it looks phonetic or not. :P_**

* * *

**Remember to check my profile for updates :) PLEASE REVIEW so I know how I'm doing! :)**

* * *

(8 May, 2013) I just got this chapter re-edited! :) I will gradually be editing more of my work, but my main focus is to write and upload (with all of my initial editing, of course. I don't just _not _edit it. Don't get me wrong :P) chapters. Again, review, and check my profile for updates, yeah? ;) I have everything I'm working on with the progress of each on my profile, so just look to that!


	4. III-Forest and Desert

_**Disclaimer in Prologue.**_

_**WARNING: This story is now with an M rating. M rating in this chapter for description of gore and violence (mostly just in the beginning)**_

**Sorry this took forever to get out o.o Really, I feel terrible about it... Ugh. Oh well... It's out now, and things are moving along :)**

**Narutopokefan: I'm glad you like it :) And you may have to wait a while for the legit, assigned mission to start XD There's gonna be a few bumps in the road... :D**

* * *

_Place Name: Regionem Aves - Literally, Region of Birds, but I took it to mean Land/Country of Birds rather than region :P_

_Place Name: Rice Agro Regionem - Rice Field Country (Good job, Google Translate! Way to translate rice!)_

**Be warned. Once I start using the thees and thous and whatnot, that means that the character is speaking Quenyan, an Elvish language (higher elvish, explained further in the annotations at the bottom). But if Shakespearean language is not used, then you should be able to use the context to decide whether the character is conversing in another language or not. Elves speaking amongst one another are able to understand each other, but elves that speak Sindarin rather than Quenya, in this fanfic, are considered lower-class and are often harassed, bullied, thought to be stupid, such and such. They speak very casually, unlike how I have Quenya speech. Sindarin is a mutated form of the original Quenya. So rather than 2 separate languages, I am considering them 2 separate dialects... like Deep South vs Bronx or Brooklyn, or Valley Girl vs. Jive :P**

**If you need further explanation or are just curious, PM me :)**

* * *

Anger bubbled and boiled in his veins like a raging demon. Hugging his worn, tattered cloak about him, Sasuke attempted to quell his internal storm with thoughts of blood pooling rapidly around a certain man's body. He imagined the crimson life leaping out to the rapid beating of the man's heart, the flow gradually lessening as he gives himself up to the inky cloaked figure of Death. Sasuke sucked in a shuddering gulp of icy morning air. He was nearly at shore.

Sasuke's small boat crept silently through the damp mists that clung to his skin, as stiflingly close as the souls press to one another in the River Phlegathon. Entering the thicker, murkier waters of an estuary, he determined that he could hide his craft on the shoreline in the tall grasses without being spotted. Sasuke almost scoffed. This was too easy. Stepping out of the boat, his feet sunk into muddy mire, and he slipped a bit as he pushed and shoved his boat onto something resembling more solid land.

Sasuke listened hard, straining to his ears to hear _something _through the thick silence. Being that he was in Regionem Aves, it was much too quiet for his liking.

Sasuke continued to take careful, almost hesitant steps onto firmer, drier land, all the while scanning his surroundings suspiciously. His hand slipping on to the hilt of his rapier, he fully realized just how reckless this was. Honestly, Sasuke didn't even know where to begin looking for the hideout. Maybe he could ambush a lookout or something, and have him lead Sasuke to the hideout. None of it really mattered in the long run. He would have his revenge, no matter the cost.

Creeping along the brush underneath some very large, thickly rooted trees, Sasuke paused for a moment. His eyes had to become more accustomed to the misty darkness of the forest before he could continue on. Unfortunately, he realized too late that he should have kept moving. A thunderous roar echoed through the tree tops, and he felt rather than heard something quite large land near him. Sasuke whipped around, rapier in hand, prepared to thrust it deep into the flesh of whatever manner of beast this was.

But this beast (a simple wildcat, as it were) was cut down before Sasuke had the chance to make a move. A tall, cloaked figure had descended from the tree tops, viciously slicing the animal in half with a long sword. Sasuke bristled as the figure, with his back to the young man, began to leisurely wipe the blood off of his blade.

Irritated at being ignored for well over a minuted, Sasuke called out, "Hey!" He became even more irritated by the lack of resolve he heard in his voice.

The figure turned around slowly, sheathing his long sword upon his back. Sasuke caught a glimpse under the hood of the cloak, of what appeared to be some sort of mask.

"Found you."

It was done before Sasuke had even realized what was happening. _Heh, so much for my Sharingan_, he thought bitterly. He felt the cold steel being ripped out of his body, and he fell to the ground, his belly suddenly feeling very warm and damp.

He shivered._ Damn, it's cold._

The figure leaned languidly against a tree. "You're lucky, you know," He mused, seeming unconcerned with Sasuke. "I was ordered by the boss not to kill you." He chuckled. "You're not worth killing anyway."

Sasuke snarled with rage, flinging himself at the man. _How dare he! How _dare_ he! What right does he—_the man didn't really even move much. He kicked Sasuke right back into the dirt.

"Come on, kid. You got a hole in your gut. Don't you think you should get that checked out?" Sasuke could tell that the man was smiling behind that mask, and he was positively burning with rage.

A hand was thrust out at Sasuke, and as though he had received a particularly hard shove, he was sent flying into a tree. He struggled and grunted in frustration, but it was to no avail. He reluctantly found that he could not move.

The cloaked man shrugged. "Orders are orders, kid. I can't have you die on my watch, or I'd get into some pretty big trouble. But… don't look at it as though I'm saving you."

The man picked Sasuke up by the collar and dragged him to the vessel he had thought was so well hidden. Sasuke would never admit it, but he was ashamed of himself. He had known that it would be hard, but _this_ hard? He had totally underestimated his opponents, and he had been made a fool of. _He was not this weak_.

The man was pushing him out into the Sea of Bandits. Sasuke vaguely heard that he was putting a spell on the boat, causing it to go North and approximately fifteen degrees East, to the Port of Ari**[1]** in Terra Ventus. He also heard the man say that the binding spell would be off in about six hours. Frankly, Sasuke didn't give a damn. He was becoming dizzy with blood loss at this point, and the world was becoming a hazy opium den. He had to become stronger. He had to, at all costs.

Besides, it was alright that he was headed to Terra Ventus. From there he could go back _home_. Even in his mind, the word felt foreign, because it wasn't really his home anymore. But it was almost _that _day. So he would go back to Vicus in Foliis, just for them.

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

"Yes, I know we still need to keep him under watch. But Naruto has immense potential. I feel as though we are keeping him from becoming something… magnificent."

Tsunade sat in a dimly lit booth within a rather dimly lit bar. Her pale fingers were interlaced under her chin as she gazed inquisitively at her conversation partner.

"I'm well aware," she nodded to the waiter who dropped off their appetizer. "but that is precisely why I have had him sent on this mission. We need to see just how far we can trust this boy. I already know everyone in the village, including you, Iruka, loves him. I am quite attached to him, myself. But—"

"I understand." He cut Tsunade off, holding up a hand. "We have to just wait and see how things turn out. I understand."

They were quiet for a while, but Tsunade was thinking. Something had been bothering her now for a while. She had already voiced her concerns to one of her oldest and dearest friends, but he had brushed them off as the worries of a warrior queen growing soft with age.

"Iruka…" she began tentatively. "I haven't been sleeping well at night since… well, since we took Naruto in and sealed the demon away. Of course he's escaped just yesterday, but this is something that has been bothering me for three years, now." She rubbed her forehead in frustration, hoping that perhaps Iruka would listen to her.

_Tch. Ironic as it is, I am the sisnelalmo melwa mahtartaari**[2]**, yet even so, people often do not treat me with due respect…_

"What is it, Lady Tsunade?" Iruka replied in between mouthfuls of dripping meat. "You seem troubled."

Tsunade smiled and with a motherly hand, wiped some brown sauce off of his tan cheek. "I am a bit troubled, hína**[3]**." She took a sip of sake, preparing herself to be shot down again. "I've been wondering… What if that fox demon actually cared for Naruto?" Iruka looked at her blankly, clearly more than a bit shocked, and quickly Tsunade added, "Well, he seemed so… _concerned_ about Naruto! He wanted the boy to be trained properly and to be well taken care of, and the demon even begged for his freedom when we were talking of taking him in for questioning. It makes sense, Iruka."

"He is a monster!" he hissed.

"Just because he is not a man in form doesn't mean he is a monster! I would wager—if I were correct in my assumption of how he feels about Naruto of course—that he is one of those spirits or demons that is neither evil nor good, yet does what he pleases and holds allegiance to no one. One could say they are simply acting for their own gain, interests or entertainment."

"Then how does Naruto play into all of this?"

"I don't know."

"I still say he is a monster... You don't—you wouldn't understand!" Iruka cried with sudden fervor. "You have lived in peace with your kind for centuries and yet... This huge whale-turtle-monster-thing, with demonic energy not unlike that fox's, comes to attack my people! He left us nothing, except in a few cases, our lives. Believe me, that was more like a curse at that point. These are inhuman monsters who cannot comprehend things like morals, pain, loss, or love." Iruka deflated, putting his head in his hands with a large sigh.

_I wouldst that he would have lived in our lands during the War of Fire and the Grokhagdum Wars, _Tsunade thought resentfully. "If you hate things that aren't in a human form naturally, you must truly loathe yourself."

It had come out in the heat of the moment. She hadn't really meant it. She could see the shock and hurt on Iruka's face, and immediately Tsunade regretted what she'd said. Normally, she'd never have said such a foolish and thoughtless thing. The alcohol, it must have been—

"My lady, I was told that you would be here." A man stood next to her outside of the booth. For a moment, both Iruka's and Tsunade's attention were diverted from their conversation. "I have a message for you."

"Perfect. Thank you, you may go." She smiled kindly at the man. He handed her a piece of rolled parchment and left.

She scanned over it. Her eyes widened. It was coded—in her own language! Well, everything except for the codename at the bottom: _Ímisy**[4]**_.

"Iruka…"

"Hm?" he regarded her moodily from beyond the rim of his water glass.

"We're leaving." She stood immediately and threw some coins onto the table—more than enough for what they had ordered.

"Wh-what?" Iruka followed after her in obvious befuddlement. "What's going on?"

"We're going to the Scorched Elm Tree. This message," Tsunade held it up so the man behind her could see. "is in my own language, and yet it is coded. No one here will be able to figure it out. And the one who sent this requires that we make all haste in decoding it. If he went this far to keep this message a secret," she muttered to herself, "it _must _be about _that_. He must have found something."

* * *

_.x.x.x.x._

* * *

It was about midday. The farther they walked, the hotter it got. Naruto knew it was stupid, but he somehow felt relieved that the border was in sight—as if he could find respite from the heat by crossing into Terra Ventus. But he knew it would only get hotter from here on out.

Lee fell into step with the blonde, a barely contained grin creeping onto his face.

"So do you think Anko was telling the truth about sand serpents?" he asked excitedly.

Naruto gave a short bark of laughter, not bothering to suppress his obnoxious grin. "I dunno. But if she was, this is gonna be an awesome adventure-like-thing!"

Sakura gave a groan of annoyance from in front of them, and the boys snickered.

"Oi! Anko! What brings you all the way out here?" One of the border patrolmen casually inquired of Anko.

Anko tipped her head in the direction of the three youths. "I'm bringing these guys on a mission to Terra Ventus. But the mission's kind of a secret. Sorry."

The man laughed, glancing but not really looking at Anko's ID. "Ya sure sound sorry! I feel so left out… Well, hopefully I'll be seeing you."

After they had passed, Sakura rubbed her arms, inching closer to Naruto. "How morbid… It's like they're saying she might not come back."

Naruto shrugged. "But that's how it is, right? You do stuff like this, and sometimes, you just die. That's life. But it's not a bad thing…at least I don't think it is."

"How carefree…" was the grumpy reply.

"_You_ need to loosen up, ma'am." Naruto poked Sakura's cheek.

She giggled.

Since they had passed through the border, the terrain around them hadn't changed much. What _had_ changed was the atmosphere. Everyone was now on a higher alert for even the whisper of danger.

Minutes passed into hours as they travelled deeper into foreign soil. Slowly, almost unnoticeably, it was becoming warmer. The grasses were gradually receding and their surroundings began to take on a beach-like appearance of sand, gravel, and tall weeds and brambles. Sakura was fanning herself. Anko shaded her eyes, peering towards the horizon.

"Hey," began the pinkette rather suddenly. "Do you have a map? I haven't seen you take one out even once."

Anko turned back at her with a sly smile. She tapped her head twice with her forefinger, and that was all.

Needless to say, Sakura didn't look very pleased with that answer.

There were no trees anymore. There was also no more gravel. Here and there was a speck of vegetation—usually dead—but mostly their surroundings were tan; dull, constant tan. As Naruto looked ahead, he could see a wall of blue pressing down tightly on a bumpy wall of tan. As of now, their path was reasonably flat. But soon, they would have to struggle up and over those large and imposing dunes. _From here, _Naruto thought, _they look like mountains._ The ground had indeed begun to slope upwards here and there, and the wind would sometimes smack Naruto in the face and eyes with projectile grains of sand.

"Look!" Lee called excitedly.

The barren wasteland was perhaps not so barren after all. Shrouded in the shimmering heat waves, a large caravan of camels marched proudly past the group, approximately one and one half kilometers away. It had at least twelve people—some riding the camels, some leading them. Lee and Naruto waved animatedly, and what seemed to be the figure of a woman with a stately appearance, waved back from upon her camel in an almost regal manner. It seemed so surreal. The caravan was getting rather far off, and the group soon lost sight of them.

The first dunes they had crossed hadn't been that large. To elucidate, they were really like small hills—about ten to fifteen meters high. But the act of climbing them was like swimming against the current, and each dune seemed bigger than the last. It was torturously slow progress. Soon, Naruto and the others were down, struggling on all fours to claw their way through the sifting sand. With hands and faces scratched by sand, they made it to the top of the first mountain-like sand dune, and slid carefully down. _Obviously,_ _we can't just go around these things,_ Naruto lamented. …_While we were on the top of that last dune, I saw that going around them would take just as long, if not longer than this freaking "dune climbing" or whatever the hell this is. _As they began the slow, painful climb of the next dune, Naruto gritted his teeth. His face burned. The sand reflected the heat from the sun, and seeing all of the heat waves rising around him made him feel as though he were baking. His hands were burned and bleeding, and he began inwardly cursing the gloves that he habitually wore because they were fingerless. It had been approximately eight hours since they had set out.

Naruto suddenly bumped into Lee.

"Hey! Bushy Brow, what the hell?"

"Shh!" Lee's vehement shushing effectively quieted Naruto, and put him on alert.

"What's going on?" the blonde whispered, crawling up next to his friend.

"Be still. Feel it underneath you."

Utterly confused, Naruto stilled, and closed his eyes so that he might "feel" whatever the hell Lee was talking about. Through his scorched hands and baking knees, he sensed the sand shifting beneath him in a strange way. It almost felt like a mini earthquake.

"Woah!" Naruto yelled in a moment of realization. "This is—"

Lee tackled him, urgently covering his mouth and "shushing" him again.

"Sorry," Naruto winced, "This is awesome!" He exclaimed gleefully. "I've never felt an earthquake before!"

Lee shook his head vigorously. "Naruto… remember those serpents in the desert Anko told us about?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Like I believe that crazy bitch. I bet it's just a—"

A terrifying noise, louder than thunder, bit through Naruto's ear drums and left them ringing as though in the wake of gun fire. He was dizzy—his equilibrium was off—and he knew Anko's mouth was moving. She was frantic; the look in her eyes had become crazed. Naruto couldn't make out anyone else around. He felt himself being jerked forward, and suddenly, he felt as though he were flying.

There was a muffled noise near him. He tried to see what was making the noise but at the time, he was already having a difficult time remaining conscious. Then he heard it again. It was definitely a word of some sort. Anko kept jerking him forward and, fuzzily but surely, it came to him.

"Naruto!"

He blinked. "Huh?"

"We have to run! The others are way ahead of us!"

"Why? What is it?" Naruto turned around, curious as to what manner of beast they were running from.

Suddenly, he found himself facing a large row of very sharp-looking teeth, and he barely managed to dive out of the way before they snapped at him.

"What the fuck is that?!"

Golden eyes glinted dangerously in the sunlight, and a large serpentine neck rose, coiling as though preparing to strike. Naruto whipped out his claymore, and before the beast could strike, the boy had leapt into the air and swung his sword in a deadly arc, intending to fatally wound the serpent, if not completely decapitate it.

"Naruto!" Anko screamed. "Stop! You can't beat it!"

"Tch." The monster was much tougher than the silken, brick red hairs on its scales suggested. Naruto almost slapped himself. _Scales_. Hopping away to a safer distance, Naruto sheathed his sword and pulled out the lighter blades that were sheathed on his hips. The serpent was at least disoriented by his blow. He would just have to use that. So before the sand serpent could attack again, he made his move.

"Ourliázontas aéra**[5]**!"

His two swords hummed and vibrated together hungrily, the wind quickly gathering around the blades. Naruto lashed out, and the wind roared angrily into the serpent's neck. But all there was to show for it was a damp looking "X".

"Damn it!"

The beast roared again, and Naruto covered his ears to try and muffle the deafening sound a bit. The mixture of high and low frequency waves made him want to vomit. He staggered, struggling to remain standing, but the serpent was lunging at him again. He darted around the huge, saw-like teeth, however it was impossible to dodge completely. He was hit hard enough to be knocked off balance, but he hit the ground rolling to avoid another strike. Naruto leapt into the air. That had been enough time to focus additional energy for more a potent spell.

"Iródis ton drákon**[6]**!" he cried, swords ripping through the air.

The serpent screeched in pain, its head whipping violently to and fro. Naruto's blonde hair was slowly becoming a dull rust color from a singular red rain pouring from above.

"Naruto!"

The sand serpent loosed one last mighty howl and dove back into the dunes from whence it came. It would probably die there.

The blonde loosed a growl of frustration. "Damn it! It got away!"

"Naruto!"

Said man was then bowled over by a force of two people. It sort of brought him back to reality.

"Damn you, Naruto!" Sakura screamed into his jacket. "You're so fucking reckless!" She clung onto him as though she would die if she let go.

"Really, Naruto." Lee gazed at him, appearing concerned. "Please, don't be so hasty! Sakura was so worried about you! And you could have been killed!" he shook his head with very evident disappointment. "If I had known you were going to do that, I could have helped you…"

"Yeah well..." Naruto stood up, smiling. "I got rid of it, didn't I?" his smile extended into a broad grin.

Just then, a sharp pain filled the back of Naruto's head. He turned around, glaring into the murderous gaze of Anko.

"Just what do you think you were doing, you damn brat?" Her voice was deathly calm. It was terrifying.

"Um…" Naruto stammered, wide-eyed. "I—uh—I just—"

She roughly grabbed his collar and tugged him closer, so that their faces were barely an inch apart.

"Can't answer, boy? Maybe I should just tell the Hokage that you're not ready for shit like this." Anko shoved him away, and he landed awkwardly on his backside in the sand. "If I tell you to do something, you damn well better do it. You know, I just thought that sort of thing was common sense, but maybe it isn't for a little street urchin like you."

"Anko, isn't that enough?" Lee murmured petulantly.

"It's enough when I damn well say it's enough!" Anko snapped back at him.

Naruto got up and dusted himself off.

"Hey! I'm not done with you yet, kid!"

"We were going this way, right?" Naruto inquired. "I seem to remember the sun facing in that direction when we—"

"Dammit! Why won't you listen!"

"Anko!"

"Enough!" Sakura and Lee cried in unison.

It made Naruto smiled a bit on the inside. He was grateful that at least he had some people that he could call true friends… Actually, he had a lot, now. This thought allowed that smile to make its way onto his lips. _But_, he reflected despondently, _I can never tell anyone about Kurama… They'll take me in for sure… I don't know what they'll do to me to try and get him outta me… Is that even possible? Besides… I don't want him to die._

"What is that?" Lee gasped.

Behind them, there was a big yellow cloud. _A sandstorm? No… A dust cloud. But... wait…_

The closer it got, the clearer it became—and the louder it became. There were horses—lots of them—at full gallop and coming right at them.

"Oh!" Lee exclaimed excitedly. "Are they here to meet us?"

"Don't think so." Said Anko. "We have to hide. Let's just watch them, 'kay?"

The rest of the group nodded. Safely concealed, they observed a rowdy group riding by, swinging their swords in the air and yelling and crying out joyfully as though they were riding into battle. There had to be, at the very least, thirty of them.

When they were out of sight, Anko gestured for the three others to come closer.

"So, did anyone notice anything?"

"They were headed in the direction of Void Village, right?" Sakura tentatively asked.

Anko nodded. "Right, which is exactly where we happen to be going. I recognized one of them… the leader." Her visage became troubled. "I can't remember exactly what his name was, though…"

"Aw, what does it matter?" Naruto cried. "Let's get going!"

"Those guys looked like bad news." Lee agreed. "That village might be in trouble!"

"Guys! We can't get involved in things like this!" Anko argued. "We have to get to Arena Vicus as quickly as possible. This is their problem to handle once the Kazekage is back in his position."

"Forget it."

Naruto had begun climbing another dune. They were beginning to get smaller. It was still rough work, but as evening closed in, it was becoming cooler, so it wasn't so bad. Slowly, the others began to follow him.

"Don't worry, Naruto." Sakura called up to him. "We'll see if there's something we can do."

"Yeah!" Lee exclaimed eagerly. "We can't pass up someone in need—especially a whole village!"

"Just assuming they really are in need…" Muttered Anko.

It was just beyond the horizon. With the sun at their backs, they set out to Void Town. Although, that town already lay in darkness._  
_

* * *

_.x.x.x.x._

* * *

"Quickly, prepare an envoy for the Lady Hokage."

This elderly man had been fussing over Tsunade for a while now, after he had been notified that she was leaving for Scorched Elm Tree.

"That will not be necessary, Homura." Tsunade stopped the men who were just leaving the office to carry out the orders. "I will travel with Iruka."

"No you will not!" Homura growled crossly. "I don't care if you're the Hokage, or the queen of the world. You will cease to show such a blatant disregard for your safety and for the elders of this village!"

The Hokage closed her eyes and sighed. For a long time, she remained silent.

Finally, she opened her eyes and spoke in a low murmur. "Do you doubt my capabilities, old man? If you doubt my power as Hokage or as a queen, I shall show you, one on one, just how wrong you are to do so."

Homura did not look frightened—that much could be said of him. But after that terse warning, he did grudgingly back off. "My apologies, my lady; it will be as you wish it."

"We will be taking our leave, then." Tsunade turned on her heel and stalked out of her office. Once they were outside the building, she rolled her eyes at Iruka and grumbled, "Honestly, that old coot must think I'm above using Black Magic at an urgent time like this!"

"What!?" A shocked Iruka stopped in his tracks. "Black Magic?"

"Why, Iruka," Tsunade stopped as well, arching an eyebrow at him challengingly. "I know you tend to be a stick in the mud, but I never knew you for being a scaredy cat."

Iruka scowled, growling something under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, ma'am…"

The pair walked back behind the building, in the direction of the Hokage shrines. A forest gradually began to overtake their path.

"Where are we going?" Iruka inquired.

Tsunade didn't reply. She was searching for the right spot. She required a large enough area between the trees in order to create her transportation spell.

"Ah," she muttered to herself. "Here."

Tsunade kneeled in the grass, and, drawing a small pocket knife, she sliced her palm open so that her blood flowed with reasonable ease, although not too freely. With this makeshift ink, she drew a large circle in the grass. On the northern most side, an "N" was drawn outside the circumference signifying North. In the middle of the circle, she drew a roman numeral two. Then, she drew a straight line stemming from the Roman numeral to the perimeter of the circle, forty degrees Southeast. Lastly, on the outside of the circle, and at the end of that line, the number three hundred-fifty was written.

"Alright, Iruka," Tsunade stood up and casually waved two fingers over the cut in her hand, healing it. She wiped excess blood onto her green cloak and inquired, "Have you ever seen this before?"

Iruka shook his head with a somewhat perplexed expression.

"Alright. It's a simple spell. You should know this, in case you ever need it. We're in a hurry, but I'll briefly go over how to draw it. You draw it in blood, as you saw. There are no exact parameters for the circle, but it has to look like a circle and fit you inside it. I wrote the Roman numeral two inside because there will be two of us. The "N" is important because it gives the spell a compass—a sense of direction, you might say. Then the line from the two is the direction in which we a travelling. Be precise about it. The number outside and at the end of the line is how far the spell will take us, measured in kilometers. It's simple, we can go over it later if you like." Tsunade took a breath. "Now, step in here, and we'll leave."

Iruka stood still, though, staring at the spell uncomfortably.

"Come on!" Tsunade shoved him into the circle. "No one is looking!"

Once she herself was in the circle, she took a deep breath and cleared her mind. Stretching out her hands, she closed her eyes to limit distractions and began.

"Ambar ar Menel. Ëar ar Vista. I súrër colmet mettanatasainnar."**[7]**

Tsunade scrunched her eyes shut a bit tighter, as the wind began whipping loose strands of straw colored hair around her face. Behind her eyelids, she saw a bright green flash flare up then die down. After a moment, she opened her eyes. She turned to Iruka and had to force her laughter into some strange sounding choking noises. Iruka's eyes were scrunched shut, his visage drawn tightly in fear and anxiety. His body was completely taught like a bow string, as though he were preparing to be shot off into the distance. Cautiously opening his eyes, he quickly regained his senses enough to glare at her.

She snorted, already walking away to hide a gigantic grin. "Let's get going."

They were deep in a forest at this point. The trunks of all of these trees were vast, and the largest could sit on two and a half city blocks. The large, dark green leaves were just beginning to pale, or in some cases, darken to a rich brown or auburn color. It was early fall, and the sound of cicadas filled the air.

They were following a clear, shallow brook that ran downstream at their right. It was almost too quiet to be heard. Occasionally, a slender white fish would leap out of the water in imitation of the great orca or dolphin of the deep blue. Gradually, structures resembling earthen homes began to appear in the lining of the trees around them. They were really mostly abandoned—left by their owners for better quality housing closer to the city. But soon, they came upon the first dwelling supported by the strong boughs of the trees. Here and there, there were wood and rope bridges built to act as walk ways in the canopies. It was like a neighborhood in the sky.

Needless to say, Iruka was astounded. To keep him from slowing down, Tsunade had to resort to taking his hand and dragging him as though he were a child. She would be spotted soon, as the area became more densely populated, and she dreaded that moment. The forest itself was still around them, but the trees which were inhabited were becoming more and more numerous. As they headed toward the city, it would only become more densely populated.

A movement across the river, out of the corner of Tsunade's eye, made her pause. When she heard a gasp, she cringed.

"Se pelna!**[8]**"

Someone swung open a door built into a gargantuan and quite ancient looking tree, right next to Iruka, making him jump.

"Menyë melwa Mahtartaari!**[9]**"

Tsunade flashed a blinding smile while quickening her pace. More and more elves were coming out of the woodwork (in a manner of speaking). But the pair was already bustling into the city. More moss eaten stone structures and perhaps a few marble structures littered the market, and the peddlers and shopkeepers were throwing up their windows and crying out,

"Aiya Tsunade Elenion Ancalima!**[10]**"

"Anda Cuio tári!**[11]**"

"Alcarin Rahun! Elyë na oa andavë!**[12]**"

"Quickly," Tsunade murmured. "If we let them mob us, they might accidentally kill us. There are no guards… nothing! I cannot defend myself against civilians…"

Iruka hustled to keep pace with her, half jogging through the cobbled streets of the city. Weaving in and out of vendors, street performers, and citizens, Tsunade came to an extremely sudden halt in front of a vast, white marble wall. Rather, it was a castle.

"Arphenion!" Tsunade projected her voice up to the top of the wall with a charm. "It is I! I have another with me as my important guest!"

She stood there for a moment, waiting. The crowd was pressing in. It was becoming a bit too stifling, and she would probably need to step out of the rabble to breathe soon.

"Arphenion! Art thou above or not!"

"Yes, yes, milady!" A gruff voice replied. "My humble apologies, and welcome home, our queen! The drawbridge is being opened anon!"

"Tch… Anon, indeed… I cannot breathe any longer!" Tsunade muttered under her breath. Iruka looked at her questioningly, and she gave him a small smile. _Of course— he doth not perceive what we speak… It must be quite uncomfortable._

Arphenion was true to his word, and the drawbridge was lowered, even as the crowd pressed Tsunade and Iruka to it. Tall, slender men in armor possessing large shields and spears immediately barricaded the orifice, allowing Tsunade and Iruka to just barely slip past them. Iruka sidled up to Tsunade, a look of concern passing over his visage.

Tsunade smiled kindly. "Now listen. The worst is over, for you."

"Ah—milady! Thou art back!" A small girl, who looked to be about fourteen, stammered at the floor. She was beautiful, in a very short, loose fitting white tunic and a white cloth wrapped around her waist as well, hanging down to mid thigh. She possessed a dark, charcoal grey skin tone and long, and flowing silver hair that shimmered like the stars in the sky. "I—uh—thou—" The girl forwent words and, in an obvious panic, fell to her knees and audibly slammed her forehead onto the white marble floor. Tsunade sighed sympathetically. Slowly, she got on her knees as well beside the girl. She knew she really didn't have time for this, but this girl… This girl _specifically_ was her responsibility. She had taken her in after a horde of goblins ransacked a Drow city in the Underdark. She had been treated badly there, anyway, because she was not fully a Drow. And at the time, she had only been a child. So Tsunade had taken her in. But here, the girl was ridiculed worse than the Sindarin speakers were. The Drow was a violently hated race among all surface elves, and sometimes, Tsunade had wondered if she had done the poor thing wrong by allowing her to live.

"Maylara**[13]**, please look at me." Tsunade requested gently in shaky Drow. With large, hesitant violet eyes, she peered up at Tsunade. "Maylara," Tsunade was now condescending. "look at me. I'm in a hurry and I require assistance. It's important. Do you understand?"

Slowly, those startled rabbit eyes shifted to look into Tsunade's own amber eyes. "Re—really?"

"Yes. My friend here is a very important guest of mine. But for right now, I just need someone to show him to a nice room… one of the better ones. And, Maylara, you'll need to work some magic on the tub." Tsunade glanced nervously at Iruka, worried that he might perceive the direction of their conversation. "It's a secret, okay? But Iruka is a merman…**[14]**_"_

Maylara's eyes widened to an extent that actually made the blonde woman worry a bit, but thankfully she regained her composure. She timidly padded over to Iruka and curtseyed deeply.

"Umm… I—speak Pyroan no good…" she muttered apologetically, clasping her hands in front of her. Her head was down, and she gave the impression that she was forever ashamed of herself in general.

But Iruka smiled gently and patted her head. "You know, Pyroan isn't my native language either. Do you speak Latin?"

Maylara didn't look at him. She shrugged. "I speak Latin better than Pyroan. I show you to… what is it? I'm so sorry! I show you to suite, sir."

Iruka smiled gently and nodded. Tsunade turned on her heel and swept down the hallway. She loved Maylara, but she couldn't be bothered with her emotional problems right now. After launching herself up a grand spiral staircase, she stalked down a hall, her heels clicking away loudly at the wooden floor. Nearly kicking down the dreadfully heavy doors of the throne room, she rushed on back into another room that seemed almost to be hiding in the corner.

She burst through the doors, and a man in a large chair behind a large desk jumped, clearly startled.

"Move, Eru."

The elf in the chair put on a rather indignant face, and hoisted his person from the upholstery with what seemed like near inhuman effort. Even so, Eru remained beside the desk where Tsunade went to sit down, twirling a snow white finger around snow white locks of hair. He was much better dressed than Maylara—but then, he was of much higher status than the Drow. Eru had adorned a silver circlet embedded with a pale sapphire that matched his eyes quite well. His shirt was a pale grey with a low neck line but long sleeves. He wore light silver gauntlets which stretched onto the tops of his hands, and his grey pants were made for horse riding. He wore very sturdy looking leather boots, as well.

Briefly, taking one moment to absorb the appearance of her second, Tsunade very briefly wondered if she should get Maylara some better clothing. _I'd wager she's hit puberty by now, poor thing…_

"Eru, the first order of business,"

"Yes?" Eru immediately sensed the tension in Tsunade's tone.

"…Hast there been… Hast there been anything… outlandish occurring in the area? That thou hast noticed, at least? Under thy watch, hast there been anything that thou thought too petty to inform me of? Please, I do ask thee to answer truthfully, as my faithful servant."

Eru rolled his eyes. "Geez. Thou art truly dramatic. No, there was nothing, only rumors of artifacts being found in Rice Agro Regionem. But surely, thou know'st this much. Anyhow, I have not asked the earth anything for a long while, as everything seemed to be running along just fine."

"Damn it!" Tsunade yelled, throwing her hands up in frustration.

Eru narrowed his eyes. "Alright, what is going on? I sense a foul odor."

Tsunade tossed the letter from her cloak onto the desk. "I want Bainwen for this job."

Eru wrinkled his perfectly shaped nose in disgust. "Thou wouldst have that Sindarin bitch?" he growled incredulously.

Tsunade glared venomously. "Damn it, Eru, that Sindarin bitch knoweth more languages than thou dost, and fluently at that. In addition, she is the most successful and the most hard working code breaker that we have. Canst thou break this code?" she violently waved the paper in his face. "I thought not. Those in glass houses should not throw stones. Now go!"

He went, and swiftly. Tsunade slumped over with her head in her hand. _If this is what I fear…But I cannot simply leave this place when I've just arrived… My people will think I've abandoned them to work for men…_

Tsunade snarled in frustration. "Fuck it all!" she growled under her breath. "I need a drink…"

"Milady," Eru hurried back into the office. "She hath been sent for."

"Good."

"Wouldst thou like anything to eat or drink? I could send for—"

"No," Tsunade tersely declined the offer. "I cannot eat or drink anything but sake, currently…"

"That can be arranged…"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow in interest. "Make it so, then."

But it was at that moment that something loudly crashed through the doors.

"Milady!" the female elf panted. It was Bainwen. "I'm sorry I took a while! I had to finish another job but…" She shook her head as though shaking herself of the excuse and hustled up to the desk, and in front of her queen. Her dark red hair looked as though it were mussed from wind, and there was even a crisp, moss green leaf in it, which Eru distastefully picked out. Her skin was the color of a very light and pale sort of honey, and freckles danced across the expanse of her cheeks. Her shoulders were square as she gazed at Tsunade, though she curtseyed quite politely, and her quicksilver eyes blazed.

"You had a job for me, Queen? I heard it was something especially important."

Tsunade nodded, standing up as she slid the parchment across the desk. "Sit, if it pleases thee more, whilst thou art working."

Bainwen appeared aghast at the suggestion. "Oh, no, your honor, I couldn't! Here, just let me—" Grabbing the note, her eyes began to make quick scans of the paper.

"Observe, Eru, and then criticize. Unlike the others, she durst not even need paper on which to write." Tsunade smiled proudly. "She has not lineage to speak of, and her speech is crude based on Quenya standards, but is that what determines intellect?"

Eru slumped against the wall. He crossed his arms and tossed a pouting glare at Bainwen. It was with a focused gaze that he looked at her, though, and Tsunade refrained from rolling her eyes. Everyone around her except for Eru was used to Bainwen by now. As a wild elf, the girl went around in what could have been considered lingerie, but what was actually an attempt on her part to put on more clothes. Her stockings were thick, and went up to mid thigh, and she wore pale animal hide boots over them. Her "pants" consisted of a soft leather pantie, held up by strings drawn at her hips. Her "shirt" was some more fort leather, which managed to cover her breasts. Granted, Tsunade occasionally stared at Bainwen. But it was out of curiosity, produced by the many tattoos she saw over the girl's body. When Bainwen hunted, one could see all of them, for she wore nothing but thin metal wristbands and that pale brown, soft leather pantie.

The blonde woman looked away as Eru began to drool.

Tsunade loved Eru like a brother; they had grown up together, and had played together a lot. Their parents had always been quite close friends. But sometimes she just wanted to punch him for being so stuck up about his lineage. Quenya wasn't even a _race_! It was a language and it mattered where you were born and who your ancestors were. _She would be so good for him... If only he could suck it up and ask her for a night out!_

"Eureka!" Bainwen shrieked. "I got it! Milady! I got it!" The girl was practically bouncing with urgency. "This is something you really have to hear! Listen:

'To whom it may concern—

I have fulfilled the activity which was asked of me. Everything, including the kitchen sink, forces me to believe that X is in possession of Y. But I wonder what they will do with it. I suppose I will have to save my questions until the next time I see you. By the by, I know that you will sojourn at Z to relax, read, and visit—perhaps more. Return the favor, please, by permitting your servant entrance.

—Ímisy'"

"Hmm… Canst thou inscribe this?" At a nod from Bainwen, Tsunade strolled over to the door and poked her head out. Sure enough, in the previously empty throne room, there were ten guards and five servants (who thankfully didn't see her). She quickly turned back inside. "Eru?" She called sweetly.

With much rolling of the eyes, he turned to her. "Yes, My Lady?" This was said respectably, but really, it toed the line of impatient sarcasm.

Tsunade gave a lopsided grin. "What? Is't becoming too stifling in here for thee?"

Eru shrugged. "I'm waiting. What is't?"

"By Rahun, if anyone were to hear how thou speakest to me…" Tsunade shook her head. "Anyhow, I wouldst have my travelling companion and retainer from Vicus in Foliis come down and join us. I wish for thou, personally, to go and acquire the little dark one. She is attending my friend. Inform her that it is urgent business, and to convey Iruka Umino to the office behind the throne room just as soon as he is ready. Is this clear, Eru?"

"Yes, ma'am, quite."

"Off, then, and make as much haste as though a raid were moving in upon us."

"A raid?"

"Yes, a raid! Truly I say, this is an emergency, so with all unholy speed, get thy ass out of this room!"

So he did. Tsunade breathed a sigh of exasperation as she sat down behind the desk once again. Taking up the paper which was placed before her, she read and reread the translated note. It was from Kakashi, that much was clear. Ímisy was his codename—for, well, reasons that were better left unsaid. She had sent him on a reconnaissance mission into Rice Agro Regionemin order to confirm some suspicions she harbored about them.

Apparently, she had been right. They had supposedly found something big in an archaeological dig in one of their flat, grassy fields not long ago, but they had been very careful to keep it hush-hush. If it was something so great, why keep it secret? Why not let the world know about it, so that the small country could profit from all of the tourists and sightseers that would inevitably come?

Tsunade had a big problem with how the world had been, long ago, when World War Three had blown everyone almost back into the Dark Ages. She had a problem with it because, every so often, someone somewhere would dig up remnants of a large, metal and stone brick structure tunneled into the ground that had somehow outlasted the ages. Then more excavation would start, and somewhere, someone would find pieces of scrap metal; if they were lucky, they would find a small, dome shaped object that looked like it belonged on the back of a turtle. Occasionally, those things had very small rectangles with faded colors on them.

Then, perhaps once every other blue moon, a person may find a large, thick, oblong object made from metal. It looked like a torpedo, and it seemed to have something akin to fins on one end. They might find it at the bottom of a pond or a lake, or buried among rocks or in sand. After all, The End had only occurred about 400 or so years ago.

Tsunade was greatly concerned. She knew that these people had a weapon (or at least the technology to create one) that could wipe out thousands—even millions. She didn't know what it was exactly—she'd have to send out more people later. The important thing was that this country was right on their border, and they didn't have excellent relations, to say the least.

The rest of Kakashi's letter was simply saying that he knew Tsunade would take it here to be decoded. She would have to tell the guards to be expecting him, or else they might take him prisoner by mistake. She smiled as she thought of how happy and surprised Iruka would be to see him. But then she frowned. Now was not the time for rest or relaxation. Now was the time to get to work.

* * *

_.x.x.x.x._

* * *

The Gusty Mountain Range clawed desperately upwards, fighting to reach the large, yellow waxing moon dangling overhead. Sand tore through valleys and gorges, fleeing from the wind racing after it. Naruto neither saw nor heard any of these things. He slept heavily in a small cave with a very precipitous drop just outside of it. It sheltered him from the roar of the wind, though not the plunging temperature of the night. Shivering, Naruto pulled himself up into a ball and readjusted his sleeping bag. He was wholly unaware that someone was watching him.

* * *

**A/N:**

**1) Port of Ari: _Ari is an Egyptian name that means "guardian". So I thought it was appropriate to call a port this._**

**2) Sisnelalmo melwa mahtartaari: _Scorched Elm Tree's fair warrior-queen. This is the Quenya form of the Elvish language, Quenya being "higher elvish". Tolkien began this language, and it had 350 words to begin with. Now it as over a thousand, and there are many tentative rules being formed for it just as any other language. Quenya in particular is based on the Finnish_ _language. I'm American. Don't you dare ask me how to pronounce this shit._**

**3) h****ína: _child, in the Quenya language_**

******4) Ímisy: _"Half" in Greek  
_**

******5)Ourliázontas aéra!: _Howling Wind - Grey magic, higher primary magic, elemental wind magic, attack spell_**

******6) Iródis ton drákon: _Herd of Dragons - Grey magic, higher secondary magic, elemental wind magic, attack spell_**

******7) Ambar ar Menel. Ëar ar Vista. I súrër colmet mettanatasainnar. : _Heaven and Earth. Sea and Air. The winds carry us to our end point. (eloquent, I know.) Just cuz I can, and I'm a dork, here's the exact translation: Heaven and Earth. Sea and Air. The winds carries us our endpoint toward. In Quenyan._**

******__********8) Se pelna! - _She returns!_**

******9) Menyë melwa Mahtartaari!: _Our fair Warrior-Queen! in Quenya_**

******10) Aiya Tsunade Elenion Ancalima! - _Hail Tsunade brightest of the stars! (Taken from _LOTR: The Two Towers [Book IV]) _and also www dot arwen dash undomiel dot com_**

******11) Anda Cuio tári! - _Long live the queen!_**

******12) Alcarin Rahun! Elyë na oa andavë! - _Glorious Rahun! Thou wast away for a long time! (Rahun is indeed a name, but don't get confused. Tsunade is Tsunade, not Rahun, and it will be revealed who this is in the next chapter._**

******13) Maylara: _For first names, Drow names have prefixes and suffixes. So I chose the feminine prefix "May-", (beautiful, beauty, silver) and added it to the suffix "-lara", (cynic, death, end, victim). If I wanted to be poetic about it, I could say it was, "beautiful victim" or "silver death". But take it how you please._**

**14) Okay, so he's a merman. So, I thought this fit cuz his last name is Umino, which means dolphin. So yeah. Also, I'm making him a sexy merman. He'll only look a little different, not too. And he'll have a pretty tail! :D**

* * *

******To help with some annotations: I have divided the types of magic up further from Grey, White and Black to, for example, elemental magic. There are other types, like summoning magic, alchemy (which covers things like potions, poisons, antidotes etc) and other things. But of course, these are all within one generic type of magic: White, Black or Grey. Naruto, for example, is primarily a Grey Magic user. Everything exists within these three types of magic.**

******So, within those types of magic, there are different styles: attack, defense, diversionary/illusion and things like this in general. There are also different levels of spells, curses, potions or what have you. It all has to do with the ease of performing them. There are three levels: Primary, Secondary, and Advanced. Then there is also Forbidden, in which whatever it is, is universally forbidden to be done, like the performing of a curse, and if fond out will land someone in serious shit whatever country they are in. But as far as the three basic levels, which excludes Forbidden, there are 2 other levels of difficulty: lower and higher. Obviously, the lower primary or lower secondary spell would be easier to cast than the higher primary or the higher secondary spell (respectively).**

******I realize that this is all a bit confusing. I also realize I switched up the geography of the Naruto world quite a bit. I'm having fun with it XD SO. If you're confused, feel free to leave a review asking about it. At this point, no question is stupid lol**

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**PLEASE REVIEW! I HAVEN'T BEEN GETTING ENOUGH REVIEWS LATELY :(**


	5. IV-Night, Day and the Hawk in the Sand

**Ahh I'm so sorry about this. This has been a long time coming... But too long in coming. I would dodge your various projectiles you're throwing at me but I know that I deserve them, quite honestly. But I have... tons of excuses for putting this off so long. First off, lemme start by saying I've never gotten sick and missed so much school in my life. Second off, I almost got a job. 2 interviews, and never got called back. Bitches. 3rd, technical difficulties with OU shit (on OU's part, might I add) and other various things with college I've been dealing with. I had a big exam earlier in March. I just got assigned a 4th quarter project in my AP history class. I'm having various flute things like COFA and playing hard shit in church pushed on me, plus I'm practicing for a solo (again). Can I go on, or can I stop? I still haven't put my grad party on Facebook, nor have I begun sending invites to family.  
**

**Long story short, I'm doing everything in my power to get these chapters out to you. But I am extremely busy right now. I'm sorry if I can't get these out fast enough for you, but the fact that I'm not just going to throw away this story should be enough for you. I'm really into it and passionate about it and, this only being the 4th chapter, it's been really fun for me.**

**Anywho. Replying to a couple reviews:**

_**Narutopokefan: Haha mysterious, no? You'll find out this chapter who's watching them in the cave :D**_

_**BrokenxWinged: I'm really sorry I couldn't update sooner! I feel really bad about it ._. But hmm. That is a good question. You know, I think I'm trying to make this more of a SasuNaruSasu, because they're both men. Neither are super girly or feminine, and it takes a lot of... stuff for a guy to just open his legs to another guy and "become the woman" if you will excuse my crudeness. It's more complicated than that... Again, they're men. I'm not going to make this "Naru-chan" or some shit like that, if you get what I mean. It's difficult to say exactly without giving my plans for them away, so I think I'll leave it at this. :)**_

**So as I write this fanfic, you may realize that some things are in English, and some things are named in another language. I don't specify if they're actually conversing with each other in another language because I'm lazy.. But otherwise, I tend to think of it as such that, in particular with Naruto and his current travelling companions, they are speaking Pyroan (Greek), the native tongue of Terra Ignis (Land of Fire). With people from different nationalities (so that they are in "mixed company"), I prefer that one would assume they are speaking the universal language of this alternate universe, Latin. I'm going to go back and start cleaning this up chapter by chapter so that it is more clear when someone is speaking in a different language, and which language at that. But unfortunately I won't be doing that for a while, and the editing process will probably be a long one. But I'll get to it since I'm going over all of my previous works and editing those as well.**

**So. I've created a system of coins... eheheheee... I'm having too much fun with this, I'm sorry. Here it is(in Pyroan):**

**_$0.10: 1 sídero (gold)_**

**_$1.00: 1 chalkós (silver) (slang: jack, scratch; jack used as plural form, and also referring to money/coin in general; scratch is singular, used only for _****_chalkós_**)

**_$10.00: 1 as_****_ími (copper)_****_  
_**

**__****_$100.00: 1 chrysós (iron) (slang: ferr; in Latin iron=ferrum, thus "ferr")_**

******It's really a simple system, based on the units of ten. So like, if you had 7 ****chalkós (about $7), you'd have 70 ****síderos. If you had 10 ************chalkós, that's the same as having 1 ****as****ími. Kinda easy to understand? Just refer to this if you get confused, and I'll be putting this conversion... list? chart? thing on each chapter for a bit, just so you don't get frustrated or anything. Remember it's okay to ask me questions about random stuff. Even I get confused sometimes, and I'm writing this! (Comforting, isn't it?)**

**********************************Enough of my blabbing.**

**********************************Enjoy!~**

* * *

The black waves gently broke against the soft, white shore. The pearlescent sand glistened like snow, reflecting the gentle moonlight. It easily gave way, in the manner of thick butter or fat, under Sasuke's bare feet. He did not notice when the day had shed her bright blue dress and slipped into soft, sensual black. His back was coldly turned to the dark, deep ocean and the small, drifting boat that moved as though it were on blown glass—slowly and smoothly. Sasuke vaguely decided that the sea was a bit too calm for his liking, but he did not dwell on the thought, if indeed he dwelt upon it in the first place (for to not _linger_ on one thought, you have to give it the time of day to begin with).

Sasuke had _not _docked by the boardwalk, where it was safe, and where the blinking lighthouse kindly beckoned people like him into safe harbours, and away from the sharp rocks that he was currently leaving. No. If he had docked that little boat which was now drifting out into the open ocean, right up on the boardwalk, he surely would have been spotted by many others; others who were from cargo ships, others who were from pirate ships, others who were from navy ships. They might be on lookout duty for the night, to ensure that no one would take their ship. A naval officer might be keeping an eye on the boardwalk, making sure that there was no funny business—or there might be a navy ship or two in port, travelling for one reason or another. A cargo ship, arriving late in port, might just be unpacking their goods. He couldn't take chances. He didn't have that luxury at the moment. Sasuke wasn't exactly inconspicuous, after all, with swords sticking out from under his cloak, and the cloak itself shredded and stiff with dried blood. Which reminded him: he had to get his wound taken care of.

The sounds of the city of Ari were growing louder and louder as Sasuke trudged on. He was travelling uphill, now, further and further above sea level, through bramble, sharp shells, stones and broken glass. Although he didn't really think much about it, he found it ironic for a moment that he was trying to remain unseen; yet if someone found these bloody footprints and followed them…

Hanging paper lamps were lit on the outskirts of the city. They lined the main roads as well, and it made it seem as though Ari was preparing for a festival. But it was always like a festival in big port towns like Ari.

Sasuke quickly muttered, "Metamfíesi**[1]**." As he wrapped the thin cloak tighter around his body, it became thicker, and longer, eventually growing to hide all of him when he pulled the hood over his head. No one stared at him as he wandered through the streets of Ari. He was simply a nomad, an itinerant _someone _who was _no one_. Those Sasuke came across and those that came across him left well alone.

Sasuke wandered deeper into the shadows, a black figure roving in black shadow of night. At some point during his walk of the town, the sound of quarreling came from up from some narrow side street. The noise caught Sasuke's eye, but only for a moment. He wasn't interested in the problems of others. However, he took a double take (inconspicuously, of course), seeing how richly dressed one of the men were. He observed and quickly assessed the situation. He needed to take out two men: one who was large and burly and bald and really very ugly, in Sasuke's opinion, and one rich man who very likely had coins in his pocket. Silently, so silently, he crept, like a cat up to a mouse. He stuck close to the wall of the alley—the wall on the side of the big man. He would get the big man, first. It had to be quick—because he was on him now.

Sasuke had bashed the large man in the back of the neck with the hilt of one of his swords. Both of them had been too enraptured by their argument to notice that he was on them. The little rich man tried to run. Oh, he tried. But he was a rather portly little man, and he didn't get far before one of Sasuke's blades had sliced clean through him. The man moaned and grunted pitifully, like a pig at the slaughter. Sasuke smirked as he cleaned off his rapier and sheathed it. He couldn't really take his time with this, though. Someone might come. After all, murder in cold blood was generally frowned upon in most societies. He bent over the man and searched all over until he finally found what he'd been looking for: money. It was all here: the chalkós, asími, a bit of sídero, and even chrysós. Plenty of chrysós. Sasuke gave a satisfied "hmph" and took it all—all he could find on the still breathing man—dumping it into his empty money pouch before taking off. That man's clothes didn't suit him, so he would go out and buy some that did.

First, though, Sasuke needed to secure lodging for the night and tend to his wound. Also, although perhaps not as important as these first two things, he needed to find food. Without the cloak on—to be more specific, without the magic surrounding the cloak—he looked quite the mess. So it would be important to find new clothes as well, not to mention taking a good bath. That was why he was headed to Nancy's Harbour Café. His destination was just a block down from a nice weapons shop, where he dropped off his rapiers to be cleaned and sharpened. Looking around briefly, he decided he'd come back that night, because it had some accessories that he needed.

Sasuke sighed. He hadn't been to the Café in a while. Firelight gleamed from the windows and the cracks in the door. They didn't have the money for electricity in the entire venue, unlike some places. All they could afford was the kitchen, and they had all the clean, hot water they wanted. It wasn't a bad place at all. He could hear the rowdy bunch all the way outside, and further away, too. Swinging open the doors, he didn't even flinch at the onslaught of a song (if it could be called that) sung by a few drunken pirates that really couldn't sing at all. But those were pirates for you. Pushing through lines of shivering girls that smelled much too sweet and men—big, small, fat, thin—too malodorous to sit near, Sasuke finally got up to a thin wooden stand, behind which a fat little man sat. It was almost a comical sight. He, amidst all of this ruckus and debauchery and sin, this little man was here in a crisp white dress shirt and a purple knitted vest, with tufts of white hair on his balding head that reminded Sasuke of cloud. His large eyes hid behind small spectacles and he seemed hard at work when Sasuke stopped in front of the desk.

"Um…" Sasuke said loudly, trying to get the man's attention.

Still, the little old man kept scribbling away, his face scrunched up in heavy concentration.

So Sasuke tried again. "Excuse me." He said, a bit louder this time.

"Oh!" the old man squeaked.

"I want a room."

"Oh, yes." The little man bent over and dug around in the area in front of him—presumably in some drawer under his desk. "Ah, here it is. This room is free." And before Sasuke could ask, the man said, "Don't worry, it does lock."

Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke nodded slowly, taking the key and turning to go.

"Sir! The money!"

"Tch. Can't I just pay when I leave?"

"No you may not. You must pay now or I cannot let you stay here." The little man insisted.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I don't even know how long I'm staying."

"Then just give me the fee for a night."

"…?"

"One asími, five chalkós, and seven sídero."

Sasuke didn't have enough sídero to pay with, so he gave the man six chalkós rather than five, and got three sídero back. Nodding to the man, he took his leave of the noisy throng in the tavern. He went up the stairs and almost immediately came upon his room. He wouldn't bathe just yet. After closing and locking the door, he got down on his hands and knees and began to feel along the wooden floor. He knocked and peered in different little places, and to any passerby it would look like he were a bit… off. But he was looking for something—which, after a bit of work, he found: a hollow spot. Carefully, very carefully, Sasuke removed a rotting wooden plank from the floor. Underneath was nothing. Sasuke pulled out the smaller bag that was inside his money bag, and after taking out three chrysós and seven asími, put everything in the larger money bag under the plank. The rest he would take with him for food, medicine, and clothing.

Now that he had a room, he wanted medicine. Out the door he went, down the stairs two at a time, and through the entrance of the tavern. Although the cloak magic covered him, he felt conspicuous— what with being covered in blood and reeking strongly of sweat, bodily excrements and dead rat—and walked briskly through the bustling city. Even though it was late at night, the rich port town was still abuzz with activity. He noted in the back of his mind that most shops were still open, but if his memory served, the one that he was looking for was down this alleyway…

Indeed, it was there. _Bokor**[2]:** Easing your troubles for a small fee._ The sign had one of those universal symbols on it: a voodoo doll. Sasuke sighed. The poor man really had to go out of his way to show what sort of man he was—after all, no one really practices voodoo anymore, let alone would know what a "bokor" is.

When he opened the narrow door, dust seemed to rise up to meet him.

"Comeaux**[3]**?" Sasuke called. The place was absolutely silent.

Until that damn spider monkey came flying and screeching, and caught Sasuke off guard enough so that he nearly got his face bitten off.

"Louis**[4]**! Knock it off, boy!" A strong, angry voice called from another room.

"Comeaux? That fucking little shit…" Tossing a glare towards Louis, Sasuke headed toward where he was pretty sure the voice was coming from. "Are you in here?"

"Yessir! Right 'ere!" Comeaux called.

Rounding a corner, there he was, sitting on a stool so short he may as well have been on the ground.

"What you come here for, boy?" He gazed at Sasuke with mysterious, soul-searching eyes.

He was dark, dark, but not nearly as dark as they come. Besides that, he was tanned, his skin turned to leather from years of working in the hot sun. But he was not old, per say. At most, he was probably forty. His black hair was cut so short you could almost see his scalp. His voice was only a bit less rough than his hands were, and it was shocking to see a tall man like Comeaux on such a short stool. Sasuke wondered idly what he'd been doing.

"I have a wound I need healed. You do it better and cheaper than anyone else in this town."

"Well," Comeaux hesitated a moment before continuing. "I'll do it, but don' forget that you still need to rest afterward. Magic don' fix e'erythin'. It fixes some things, but not all things. 'Sides, I have physical limits with—"

"Yeah, okay, I get it, so can we just do it already?" Sasuke growled impatiently.

"You a fool, boy. I could just as easy turn you out. Not like I don' get enough money from my regular customers." Comeaux shook his head. "You needa learn some respect, tha's what. I'm sure yo ma'am taught you somethin' of that?" He just asked it as a way of grouchy conversation while he was gathering items, preparing for the healing ritual.

Sasuke needed Comeaux to heal him. So he didn't kill him. "My mother has been dead now for fifteen years… Actually, my older brother killed her. And everyone else, too." Sasuke huffed as Comeaux had him lay down on a wooden table.

"Well if everyone else gone, who done bring you up then? You was nothin' but a child, you didn't feed and fend for yourself." Comeaux reasoned.

Sasuke laughed bitterly. "A snake. A snake fed me." _I don't think he did much raising though… _"But when I was old and strong enough… I guess, you could say… I bit the hand that fed me." Now, Comeaux was rubbing a strange, jelly-like concoction over his wound, muttering a strange incantation, but Sasuke was smiling. It was a strange combination of sly, murderous, bitter, triumphant and sad. And he knew that Comeaux had heard him because he'd felt the man's fingers shudder. It'd been barely perceptible, but it was there.

He resisted the strange laughter that welled up inside him. Was he crazy or something? Probably. But what did it matter? _Everyone dies in the end. _It's what he always told himself. In every single situation, he told this to himself because it made him feel better that no matter what anyone did, no matter how old they were or what they went through in their lifetimes, they'd all die. Everyone had the same end. For some reason, it made him feel better. Maybe it was because it gave him a grip on reality. But again, what did it matter?

While Sasuke was lost in his morbid thoughts, Comeaux had been across the room, working on another little concoction.

He held this up to Sasuke's lips now. "Here. Drink." And Sasuke did, heaving slightly in the process. "Now, now, don't throw it up. That defeats the purpose!"

Sasuke just glared at him.

"So, the price will be… two chrysós."

"What?" Sasuke's eyes went wide with disbelief. "That's outrageous! Take it down! I'll pay no more than nine asími, you beggar!"

"One chrysós and five jacks**[5]** then." Comeaux returned.

"No way." Sasuke growled.

"Nine jacks is too low. I'm fine with a haggle, but I'm loosin' money there."

"Tch. Fine. One chrysós and three asími. Take it or leave it."

"I'll take it, sir!" Comeaux grinned.

Sasuke sighed, almost in defeat as he handed over the coinage. He was feeling better though, and he could feel the wound closing up. He left, not bothering with a goodbye. He was headed for the clothing shops now.

Out on one of the well lit main streets, Sasuke entered the first clothing store that he could find. He first picked up the essentials: boxers and socks. Then he went for a black tank top and some black skinny jeans—a simple outfit. There was also a large selection of belts. Belts were important to him. He picked a checkered black and red one that was just a bit too large. Getting a slightly too large belt was also important—on the inside of the belt, Sasuke would keep different summoning patches that were activated with a spot of blood and a word. They reset instantaneously as well, so it was really very convenient.

The next store he went into was a shoe store. Being a shoe store, they inevitably had a very large selection of shoes. The ones he chose were fashioned to make absolutely no noise at all. They were red and white, too.

The last store that he went to was the weapons supply store. No, his rapiers would not be ready until the morning. Yes, they would be sharpened. Oh, and they would be shined, too.

He looked around. There was a large section of gloves hanging on the wall. He picked a pair of fingerless white gloves which went up to about mid-forearm, with which he'd be able to grip his swords tightly. Next to the gloves were cancellus. Everything made of cancellus that you could imagine. Luckily, Sasuke was able to pick through the obscene quantity of product to find exactly what he wanted: fingerless gloves that went up just above his elbows.

Sasuke was almost in a good mood when he walked back to Nancy's Harbour Café. Of course it's not something that showed, but it was true. He was here in Ari, with money, clothes, a place to stay, and newly cleaned, sharpened and shined weapons soon to be back in his hands. He sighed with near contentment. He was going to have food soon, so now all he needed was a woman to bed. Or two.

Of course, if he was pretty enough, a man would do, too. It didn't matter to him. As long as there were no strings attached and nothing contagious involved, none of that mattered to him.

For the second time that night, he stepped through the doors of the tavern to be greeted by mirth, the stench of sweat and ale, and warm firelight. The moon was past the high point in the sky now, but it was still the very wee hours of the morning. It couldn't have been later than two. Upstairs, he carelessly tossed his new articles of clothing onto his bed and stripped immediately to throw on fresh boxers and his new jeans. Completing it with the shoes, he forwent his shirt and practically ran downstairs and up to the bar.

"Is there any hot food?" he asked the nearest wench behind the counter. He was really trying not to appear like starving man who'd just been rescued off a desert island.

"Umm… I'm not sure if there is any left." She frowned uncertainly. Sasuke frowned too. She was cute, but her hair was dark brown. He wanted blonde. "Let me ask, okay? And if not, I'm sure we can whip something up for ya, okay?" she smiled sweetly before belting out a question. "Nancy? Is there any food leftover from tonight? We got a hungry customer 'n he wants hot food!"

A moment later, Nancy herself appeared. She was an older woman, with a dark brown skin tone, large, bright eyes and a myriad of long, dark dread locks. She was old, but she was pretty. Nancy looked Sasuke over with a critical eye. He tried to appear unconcerned, but his stomach gave him away.

"We trew all ah food out to da cats 'n dogs een da back." Nancy said, still looking at Sasuke. Then she looked at the girl. "You go on home, baby. You jus' let Nancy take care o' dis. Boy," Nancy glanced at Sasuke as she made her way into the kitchen. "I make ya some oat 'n rice meal. Be hot 'n fillin'. I got bread baking for tomorrow, so I give you some too."

"Thank you." Sasuke mumbled.

Really, it was more than he expected, with it being so late. Nancy was actually going out of her way to feed him. Then again, that was her job. She and those working here went out of their way to ensure travelers had a place to stay and food in their bellies, no matter what time of day. With a stomach heavy with warm food, Sasuke would sleep like the dead.

* * *

Naruto started awake, bolting up from the cold, stony ground. He rubbed his aching side, scanning the interior of the cave only to see that Anko had moved on to kick the others awake.

He stood, scowling, and whined at her back, "Hey! What the hell's the big idea!?"

Anko turned swiftly to him, her dark eyes boring into him even in the shadows of the cave. "I'll explain later. Just pack up your things. We must move quickly."

As Naruto rolled up his sleeping bag and gathered his belongings, he noticed that there was one more person in the cave than there had been before. But the blonde was unable to clearly decipher any features through the gloom. As it was, the moon didn't reach quite that far into the cavern. _Oh. _Naruto thought as a realization hit him. _The moon is showing… I guess the sandstorm is over for now._

Naruto yawned, trailing lethargically after the others as they began to move out. As it happened, the extra member of their group wore a long, sandy brown cloak with the hood drawn close about his face. Naruto thought that the material was reminiscent of sackcloth. But regardless, he couldn't see what the person looked like, even now in the light of the moon.

Sakura was trying to catch up to Anko before they entered the narrow footpath outside the cave. There was not room enough for two to walk abreast with the vertical wall on one side, and a precipitous drop on the other.

"What is going on?" she asked. "Who is that person?"

They were now edging out onto the ledge, one person at a time.

"I'll explain later…" The woman answered, struggling to balance with her large axe. "We should wait for a safer place. But…" she paused, eyeing a suspicious crack in the footpath. "Basically, we need to make double time now."

They were silent as they edged along the face of the wall. Each step had to be so carefully placed. Just one single misstep—just one—would end it all; for one of them, or for all of them. But Naruto could see it. Beyond the heads of Lee, Sakura and Anko, he could see it. The sun was beginning to rise. The sky ahead of them was turning a fiery burnt orange on the horizon, splattered with yellow and red. It would be a moment though, until they could see the sun looking boldly over the sandy horizon. It was funny to think that the sky behind Naruto was still black.

It took a moment, but Naruto saw another thing. He couldn't quite make it out, but it almost looked like the sky line of a city in the far distance.

"Hey! Hey!" He crowed excitedly. "What is that! That stuff over there! Is that a city?"

Anko shook her head. "It's just a continuation of the Gusty Mountains. We are passing through one part now, but the entire range is quite long and rather thin. It curves around like a snake basking in the sun."

"So those formations over there are attached to this mountain range?" Sakura inquired.

"Mhmm. We'll find Void Town in Grace Valley…"

"Grace Valley?" Naruto asked skeptically.

Anko shrugged. They'd come to the very end of the footpath, and it veered off to the side with the shape of the mountains. "We'll climb down here."Anko said, taking out a cable. "Grace Valley." She continued absently as she tied a cable to grappling hook. "It doesn't translate very well into Pyroan, so that is what we call it. It really is something more like, 'rejoice in our green gardens and our clear waters because the desert has shown you this place'. So we call it Grace Valley, or the Valley of Grace. I've even heard it called Grace of the Desert." She sighed, dusting off her hands. The grappling hook now had a firm, secure hold in the rock. "Of course, the name doesn't really have any meaning anymore since the oasis has dried up… But who's going first?"

"I will!" Lee said. He waggled his thick eyebrows at Sakura. "So I can catch you on your way down."

All at once wide eyed and red faced, Sakura would have thrown Lee down the mountain had Naruto not had the forethought to grab hold of her first.

Each person hopped one by one down the face of the rock in an orderly fashion. Luckily, they'd all been wearing gloves, and so did not experience any sort of rope burn. Naruto could imagine that they were all grateful for that. Everyone watched in terror, though, when the person accompanying them ripped the grappling hook from its hold in the rock and simply took the plunge.

Sakura screamed. Everyone ran to him, but they couldn't see. The sand was everywhere, mushrooming like disturbed mud on the bottom of a creek bed. But the person was there, standing in a small crater as though nothing had happened at all.

Sakura gaped. "This—this isn't possible! Judging from the height and the speed of your fall, you should have been crushed! At least let me check—"

"That's not necessary, Sakura." Anko said.

That was when Naruto realized that Anko had not reacted one bit to this person's stunt.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked, finally getting irritated.

Anko sighed and turned, squinting, toward the sunrise.

After a moment, Sakura broke the silence. "It's bad, isn't it?" she murmured.

Anko nodded. "Yep, it's pretty bad." She sighed again. "Arena Vicus has been taken by the Menkure family. The Kazekage and his family are safe. They are in hiding. The Kazekage's condition is still being kept secret, and his older sister, Temari, is rallying support for him underground. This…" Anko paused, massaging her temples before continuing. "This… new member of our group is actually a puppet."

"What?" Lee exclaimed as they began walking again. "That's impossible. The puppeteer must be somewhere nearby for that to be true!"

Anko shook her head. "Not necessarily… The puppeteer is the Kazekage's older brother, Kankuro. He is utilizing Arcane Black Magic, a very old style of Black Magic. This puppet… it is actually a human that was transformed into a puppet by the infamous puppeteer, Akasuna."

"But I thought he left the dessert!" Sakura objected.

"He did. It appears he had a run in with Kankuro before leaving, and this was Kankuro's trophy. But there's a catch with this puppet. Kankuro specifically sent this puppet for a reason. Kankuro is controlling this puppet from a hidden, protected place in or around Arena Vicus. He's completely vulnerable at this time because his body is left open to attack. He is in a sleep-like state while he sees through the eyes of his puppet, and makes the puppet act accordingly. Now, here is the catch. This is an exhausting technique. In addition to this spell completely depleting the body of energy, you don't sleep, eat, drink or piss like you usually would. So Kankuro, being the brainy inventor and toy tinkerer he is, decided to create a new component to place in our puppet here. He installed a 'brain' into the puppet. This 'brain' will function while Kankuro leaves to eat, sleep, and do whatever else he needs to do."

"He—The puppet… It won't take on a personality and free will, will it?" Sakura asked warily.

"It shouldn't." Anko returned nonchalantly.

"The morals of that would be questionable… It would be like giving life, then taking it. All on a whim… If it has feelings—"

"Sakura," Naruto drawled. "You're too soft. I thought elves were tougher—more rational than that. I mean, look at old Grandma Tsunade!" he grinned at her boiling anger.

"Naruto! You don't even know what you're talking about! We're the only two elves you've ever associated with! But…" Her expression fell into uncertainty. "If this puppet develops feelings, and becomes conscious of itself as a living being… That would be bad."

"I agree!" Lee shouted passionately. "It would be like a new human had been created, yet it can be turned off and on at the will of the user! It is simply used and cast aside when convenient!"

"Remember, Kankuro can hear you!" Anko hissed.

Naruto snorted and said nothing. Lee and Sakura believed that anything that was conscious had certain basic rights. Whether that was even true or not… he didn't think that was the real issue. But there were simply things in this world that _were_ and _were not_. He thought of Tsunade, a kind woman. She'd taken him in, offering him a freedom he hadn't expected of her. Even at fourteen, he hadn't been naïve; he'd expected to be imprisoned right along with Kurama. But Tsunade was generous. She even gave him a teacher, Iruka. Iruka had taught Naruto in the way of more basic hand-to-hand combat, magic and weaponry skills, all for about one year. He quickly became like an older brother to Naruto. Iruka was one of the people that he was closest to, even now at seventeen. Then, Naruto happened upon a certain mountain sage, Jiraiya. He nagged and pleaded for the older man to teach him. At the time, Naruto couldn't help but think just how cool this old man was, and how strong. He soon found out that Jiraiya was one of Tsunade's oldest and dearest friends—and, coincidentally, part of the Nightmare Trio. Jiraiya told him that they were christened as such due to their wild and violent past. They would tear through war zones like a tornado. But now they were older, and things had calmed down. But—who was the third member? No one would answer that, and Naruto learned to simply never ask. The third person was never spoken of. But there were rumors flying about that he was dead—killed by the member of some Vicus in Foliis clan that no longer even existed.

Shaking his head, Naruto tried to halt his wandering thoughts.

These "basic rights" people supposedly had—that had been upheld by law in the ancient times of the Pre Apocalypse. Naruto could scoff at that. He had had unprecedented freedom, yes. However, _someone_ was _always _watching. He could feel it deep under his skin, like a wriggling parasite. But what was he to do? He sighed. Naruto always had the sneaking suspicion that people stopped him from doing what he wanted, but then someone would always conveniently "ask" him to go with them, or do the same thing with them. It was _total _coincidence, of course. Naruto fought to keep his expression neutral and not let his pale lips pull down into a frown. And then, there was a limit to how strong he could get, and what was deemed appropriate for him to say, to do… The Gods forbid he ever become at all influential to others! The Gods forbid that anyone might ever genuinely like him! Which of course, many did genuinely like him. But it was as though they tried to keep themselves from liking him too much.

On the flip side, lots of people hated him. Now, Naruto knew murderous intent when he felt it, but he'd not encountered it on a daily basis until Vicus in Foliis. He knew "hatred" now; he knew "pain", whereas before, travelling with Kurama, he hadn't known either. Because that powerful demon had raised him, Naruto was also to be hated and feared, right?

And so, great care was always taken in dealing with him. He knew this. He hated it. It made him yearn to hear the stories the Kurama would tell of the Pre Apocalypse; times when judgement against a fellow being was less poisonous, and although war and hate were rampant, so were love and trust.

"Naruto?" Sakura murmured, peering over at him with a concerned expression. "You've been very quiet for a long time… Are you okay?"

Admittedly, it _was_ highly unusual for him to be so quiet and subdued for such a long period of time.

Naruto shrugged, but he edged closer to the pink haired elf as they walked. "When I getta chance," he muttered. "can I talk to you alone?"

Sakura was someone that Naruto always told everything to. Well, almost always. Yes, she was very close to the Hokage, but he also believed her to be a true friend.

"Uh, yeah." She replied, clearly a bit confused. "Is something bothering you? Did something happen?"

Naruto hesitated. "Well, nothin' happened, exactly… Can ya just hear me out? I think you'll understand when I explain." After all, Naruto had been with Sakura and a few others, that time when he'd been pushed into the dirt—a restaurant owner's way of refusing to let Naruto enter the establishment.

He had to wonder—and not for the first time—if there weren't others who were treated like this… He had to wonder if there weren't people who were treated much worse. If Naruto saw Kurama in his dreams again, it could be something to ask him.

Absently wiping the sweat that gathered on his brow, his winced in surprised when the action pained him. He made a frustrated and disgruntled "tch" sound. _I guess it was impossible not to get sunburned… This totally sucks. _The blonde squinted as he peered into the distance. They were very close to the mountains now. There was an entrance that was barely visible from this distance into a valley that seemed to tunnel through between two plateaus. The rest that he could see was big and rocky and steep—more mountainous than the flat-topped areas they had just moved from.

"Is that where we're going?" Sakura asked, pointing to that particular entrance.

Anko nodded. "Through there is Void Village. We won't be stopping until we get there."

"Ah! We're so close!" Lee cried excitedly. "And we'll make even better time with no stops! Let's hurry!" He began jogging ahead, but Anko caught him by his long, black braid. "Ow!" he rubbed his head. "Don't slow me down!" He shouted, waving his arms around in frustration. "If anything, you should hurry up! Is this not a dire situation? Let us enjoy the energy our youthfulness has bestowed upon us and—"

"If you try to run all the way there you'll just get dehydrated and weak. It's hot enough already, and we don't need to risk one of us having heat stroke." Anko said sternly.

"Correct. Ms. Mitarashi is the one with the water supply, in any case."

The entire group stopped. No one spoke.

... Except for Naruto, the perpetual loudmouth. "Okay, who the hell just said that?" he cried, warily scanning their tiny caravan.

"I."

All eyes went to the puppet.

"I apologize if I startled you. I am able to speak when Master ends the puppeteer spell."

"Oh…" Sakura whispered.

After a slight pause, Anko said, "Okay, okay. Let's go. We're wasting time."

They continued on, but Naruto noticed Lee sidling up to the puppet.

"So…" he started. "Don't puppeteers usually give their puppets names?"

"Sometimes. Not always." The puppet flatly replied.

"Well what's yours?" Le seemed to be almost trembling with excitement.

"Askari."

Lee frowned. "That's a weird name…" he muttered.

"Master talks to his puppets." Askari stated. "He told me the name is in his native tongue. In Anapnoí, the name Askari means 'fighter'."

Lee's eyes widened to an impossible size. "Woah! That is just so cool!"

"What is Akasuna like?" Sakura suddenly asked.

Askari glanced at her before saying tonelessly, "I am not at liberty to tell. Aside from that circumstance, I do not have memory of much anyway."

"Probably a curse." Anko muttered.

"What? What do you mean?" Sakura pressed.

"I mean that Askari was probably cursed so that he would not be able to talk about Akasuna, so that he wouldn't needlessly divulge information."

"I do not know when Master shall return, but when he does I will not be able to speak. But please follow me this way." Askari said.

They had come to the Gusty Mountains again. Askari led the way, and instead of going through the valley they went up an inclining footpath, that swerved around the mountain. It went through the valley, but it was elevated to a certain height and pushed back just far enough, to where it was impossible to be seen by anyone in the narrow valley. Yet they could see everything perfectly.

They heard the village before they saw it. Loud voices mingled with the sounds of cattle and barking dogs. But to see it just blew Naruto's mind. His jaw dropped. He was nearly unable to comprehend the sight before him. Men, women and children in shackles were being whipped while they worked. But what were they doing? It was too far away to tell. Long, anguished cries of pain and sorrow rose and fell through the thunderous noise of the village, sprinkled with the shorter, harsher screams of pain, and the lightning-like cracks of punishment.

Subconsciously taking a step forward, Naruto whispered, "We have to help them."

"No." Anko said firmly. Yet, Naruto could hear that her voice shook, ever so slightly. "We _must _find out which gang this is before doing anything. Then we'll try to sneak down there, get supplies for the third leg of this journey, and leave as quickly as possible. We will find another cavern and take shelter there. At that moment, we need to contact the Hokage and make her aware of the –"

A shrill cry stole the group's attention. A small girl was streaking out of the village. But suddenly, the sand underneath her almost seemed to shift, and she fell. Naruto could barely see from his height, but there was something protruding from the sand, and grasping the little girl's ankle. A large, thin grey dog ran out after her and began barking and snarling and snapping his teeth in her face. Although he seemed to be without a master, he did not harm her. The nearby villagers grew quiet, and Naruto knew that they watched, because their work slowed ever so slightly. A tall, fat and rather barrel-chested man lumbered heavily out of the village. The dog backed off, lowering its head submissively, and the man patted it almost affectionately. He had a long, bushy black beard which he stroked almost lovingly. His back was to the travelers, but he seemed to be taking something out of his pocket. Naruto's eyes widened in horror when he saw what it was. It was a split leather whip, with hooked metal tips. And before the man even reached his arm back to strike the girl, Naruto had leapt off the side of the ledge.

* * *

"Hm…"

"What is it, Choza?"

"Well, I was just thinking: shouldn't Kakashi have returned home by now? I can't help but wonder if something's happened..."

Three men sat—or, more accurately, lounged—in the office of the Hokage. The first one to speak, Choza, was a very large man, massive in both height and girth. Even being seated, anyone could tell that he was huge. His hair was big, too, and wild and red. But the red had a pinkish tint to it that made it look almost plum in depending on the lighting. He had a long, white cloth wrapped around his forehead and it somewhat held his hair at bay. There were purple lines of paint from his cheek bones down to his jaw. Small, simple silver hoops hung from his ears. He wore a basic black t-shirt, and black cargo shorts that fell just below his knees. On his feet were casual nude sandals.

The man to answer Choza had been one from the Nara clan. He wore a black wife beater, allowing the clan tattoo upon his left deltoid to peek out. He had tattoo sleeves, but this was the only ink that ventured onto his chest. His shaggy black hair was tied up into a pony tail, revealing a tanned face marred by two large scars on the right side: one travelling onto his forehead, and one up onto his cheekbone. He as well sported a pair of silver hoop earrings, and donned a goatee. He sat behind the desk of the Hokage, leaning back and seeming altogether very unconcerned, despite the serious track their conversation was beginning to take. He sighed heavily, and clasped his hands behind his head.

"I don't know… That damned dog is never on time anyway. So… we probably shouldn't get too concerned just yet… It'd just be troublesome if we made a fuss over nothing."

"Better to fuss over nothing than to miss something important." Choza countered, yet it seemed that the larger man was alluding now to something other than simply Kakashi.

The last man in the room snickered. He was lounging back on a soft looking black sofa, one of his long, denim clad legs bent and the other hanging off the edge. His long, sunsine yellow hair was wrapped in a pony tail set high on his head, and his short, uneven bangs fell into his eyes slightly. He, too, wore silver hoop earrings. He wore a plain, white tee shirt, underneath a sky blue, short sleeved shirt left unbuttoned. His feet were bare.

The blonde had had his eyes closed, but he turned his head just slightly, away from the couch, and he cracked an eye open to look at the other two.

"Don't be so hard on him, Shikaku, saying how he's always late and whatnot… He's younger than we are."

"True," Choza agreed as he began to eat a large sandwich. "I mean, I'd imagine that if there was a huge problem we'd be notified…"

Shikaku sighed again. "But, Inoichi… I worry sometimes." He looked wearily at the blonde on the couch.

Inoichi raised a pale eyebrow. "Well I'm not going to sit here and read your mind."

"You could, though." Choza returned immediately.

Inoichi's sharp gaze flickered to Choza briefly. "Don't feel like it. Requires energy. Anyway." He directed his last word, with emphasis, at Shikaku.

Shikaku sat up and rested his cheek in his palm. With the other hand he gently massaged his brow with closed eyes, as though he were in pain. "It's just that, with Kakashi not being able to travel by day—obviously he's strong, and he's cunning, and intelligent but still…"

"Oh." Choza perked up after quickly after finishing the formidable-looking sandwich. "Well, I think we all know that he would definitely travel by day if it were to be required of him."

"What?" Inoichi gasped.

Choza nodded matter of factly. "But think of it like this. An ice cube could pass through a flame without melting completely—"

"Depends on how hot the flame is." Shikaku interrupted.

"Let me finish. This is just a metaphor and you're trying to be to damn exact, Shikaku. Anyway." Choza sighed. "As I was saying, an ice cube could pass through a flame without melting completely. Then it could be stored in a freezer once more to completely solidify again. Even liquid on the surface of that cube of ice would once again become ice. Then, say it's exposed to the flame again, and put in the freezer again, repeating the process over and over. This is how it is with Kakashi: burned by day, healing slightly by night. But the longer that it continues, the more damage Kakashi will receive, since damage from the sun is slow to heal."

"Oh." Inoichi muttered.

"So…" Shikaku locked his fingers together, staring intently now at the desk. "I know that the sun puts him through damage, but he only recuperates slightly from the night?"

"If he does not sleep."

"What about…" Shikaku hesitated. "meals?"

"Those probably help him the most."

"But…!" Inoichi spluttered, suddenly quite distraught.

"Yes." Shikaku pressed his forehead into his hand. "The medicines that the Nara and Akimichi clans produce may actually be harming Kakashi right now… if he, in fact, does not lust for blood…"

"If he does not know he needs it, he may die…" Choza finished gravely.

They were silent for a moment, until Shikaku's hand fell loudly onto the wooden desk. "I told you that it would be troublesome if we started making a fuss…"

Inoichi sat up smirking. "You're the one who started it, interestingly enough."

Shikaku rolled his eyes, possibly going to retaliate, when there was a knock at the door. Inoichi sighed horribly long and loud, and gave a very put upon, "I'll get it," as he got up to answer.

"Yes?" The blonde demanded, in a much more stern manner than just before.

"Mr. Yamanaka, sir, we've got a falcon from the Hokage!" It was Izumo.

Shikaku rose. "What does it say?"

Izumo peered over Inoichi's shoulder and shrugged a bit uncomfortably. "I'm not sure, but it's being decoded right now. They say we should know within the hour."

Now Choza stood as well. "It must be important if the Hokage bothered to encode it…"

"Also, we received another message just now from Anko's team in Terra Ventus." Izumo went on. "She has sent an urgent request for backup to meet them as quickly as possible—by whatever means necessary—at Void Village. A situation has arisen and she will be sending information as she gets it, but I feel that the situation she was in required brevity on the point of her note." Izumo dug around in his jacket. "Here it is, Mr. Yamanaka. The three of you may look that over if you wish, but as I said, Anko seems to wish for immediate action."

Shikaku nodded. The three men exchanged glances, and Inoichi said, "Thank you, Izumo. You're dismissed."

"Yes, sir."

"Wait!" Shikaku called. Izumo stopped up short, and Shikaku continued. "The three of us really shouldn't leave here while we wait for the letter to be decoded. So—" he turned to Inoichi and Choza. "You two are for sending the kids, right?"

They nodded.

"Alright. Izumo, can you track down Shikamaru, Ino and Choji for us? We'll be sending them on this mission."

Izumo nodded. "Yes, sir!"

"I know that Ino is working in the flower shop today, and Choji is helping the scientists in the Akimichi lab, but I honestly couldn't tell you where my own son is." Shikaku ended sheepishly.

Izumo shook his head. "Don't worry about that. I'll find him quickly one way or another."

"Just ask Choji, if Shikamaru isn't with him." Choza suggested lightly. Izumo nodded.

"Now, you are dismissed." Shikaku said.

"Yes, sir!"

The door closed, and all three men seem to breathe a collective sigh.

"Well, I suppose we have more to worry about than simply Kakashi." Inoichi murmured grimly.

Choza nodded. "It would seem like activity in the east is picking up…"

"Interestingly enough, it directly corresponds to the rumored activities in the south that we have Kakashi investigating. Not to mention the far north." Shikaku added.

Inoichi shook his head, scowling. "But that in the north could just be coincidence."

"But we should still take the necessary precautions." Shikaku stated seriously. "We have put off assigning the team that will look into the events in the Gi Tou Chionioú**[6]** yesterday, but I want to send out Genma Shiranui, Maito Gai, Hayate Gekko, and Aoba Yamashiro."

"All four of them?" Choza asked, raising an eyebrow. "Doesn't that seem… a little extreme?"

Shikaku shook his head. "This mission will consist of possible infiltration, undercover investigation, and I know for a fact that negotiation may be needed. And we have to account for the fact that, in light of the deaths of our men in their land, negotiations very well may break down."

"But how could we falsely accuse—"

"That's the thing." Inoichi interrupted Choza. "We may very well not be falsely accusing. You of all people know that things are not always what they seem."

Another knock resounded at the door. "The kids couldn't be here so fast, could they?" Inoichi asked nobody in particular. When he opened the door, a very small, frazzled looking male nearly fell into the room.

"Sirs!" He spluttered. He bowed at each one in turn, his mousy hair flopping along with his movements. "I have the message! I have it!"

"Well let's see it then!" Inoichi grabbed it from him, and he began to read out loud.

" 'Ino-Shika-Cho:

Kakashi will be arriving shortly at Scorched Elm Tree, perhaps even by the time this letter arrives. There may be something awry in the south, so be prepared to receive orders.'

So that's why it took so little time to decipher." Inoichi spared a glance at the quivering little man. "You're dismissed." Seeming to be an afterthought, he added, "Good job."

"I'm sending out the message to the team I just mentioned." Shikaku said after the man left. He sent out four of the Hokage's hawks to gather them.

"What, Gai and the others?" Choza clarified.

Shikaku nodded. "They'll report here, receive their orders and such, and will leave tomorrow at dawn."

Inoichi sighed. "Why does all this have to happen when Tsunade leaves?"

Shikaku shrugged. "Actually, I rather believe that she knew what was going on and prefers to function in a place where she can not only contact us and other countries, but also the elves that she rules over, and the elves that her kingdom is in alliance with. It's tough because during times like this she has to keep watch not only from our perspective, but also from her own front."

Suddenly, someone burst through the door. No knocking, but three people simply rushed into the room.

"What's the situation?" Shikamaru asked his father as he sauntered into the room.

"I think you all should learn how to knock." Inoichi huffed.

"Sorry, Daddy." Ino purred. "The boys can be so volatile."

The girl was very pretty. She had a long, blonde ponytail like her father, but also long side swept bangs and large, cerulean eyes brought out by dark mascara. Interestingly, she, as well as Choji had the same earrings that their fathers and Shikamaru sported. Ino had very long, slender hands and delicate fingers, but they were bandaged all the way up her forearms as though she'd been in a fist fight earlier. In one hand, she carried a large wooden bat with nails sticking out at odd angles. She wore a purple shirt that exposed a belly ring, and tight black pants, which stopped at the calf, were very low cut at the waist. Her black shoes were flat and soft, allowing for quick and silent movements.

Shikamaru and Choji momentarily shared a look of annoyance. Then Shikamaru coughed lightly. "Really, though."

Choji, although similar in appearance to his father, was different. He was also quite a large man in the same way Choza was. His long hair was just as wild and untamable as his father's, but instead of being a dashing crimson it was a more subtle honey brown color. His eyes were dark, and seemed to be perpetually stuck between brown and black. Each cheek was painted with one red swirl. It seemed to be characteristic of the Akimichi clan to paint things on their cheeks. He wore a red, short sleeved jacket with a high collar, zipped up almost all the way, with a white shirt poking through underneath. He wore black jeans and brown boots to finish.

Shikaku glanced at Choza. "You wrote up the details, right?"

Choza nodded, handing Shikamaru the paper. "Basically, you are to aid Anko and her team. Under her command are Naruto, Sakura and Lee. You will get more information from them, but for now all you need to know is that this is a request for backup. We're not sending you with anyone else because when you meet the others you will make up a small platoon. So there's no need to make this a four-man cell. This," Choza pointed to a place on the parchment. "is where you are going."

"Leave as quickly as possible." Inoichi instructed.

Shikamaru nodded. "Me 'n Choji have to grab some things, 'cuz we just headed straight here, 'n we're not quite ready to roll out just yet… Dunno 'bout Ino, though…" He looked to her in question.

"No." she smiled. "I'll just wait for you by the gate of the village, 'kay?"

* * *

Sasuke had found it prudent to blow his money and time for an entire day. Now usually, Sasuke would never find it prudent to blow anything of the sort. However, today of all days, he had both money and time to blow. He had had the worst of luck lately as well. He wanted a change. So indeed, he did find it prudent.

He woke up rather early that morning and bought quite the luxurious breakfast. Then he washed himself at the public baths. He picked up his weapons from the shop on the way to a café and bought himself a wonderful gourmet coffee. After stashing his weaponry back in his hotel room, he was stopped short as he was leaving by a lovely young girl.

She was slightly tanned, with long blonde hair and gentle blue eyes—just his type, as it happened. Now, what he would _never _normally have done (but what he knew he was very capable of) was to hit on her, get her loosened up, allow her to melt in his arms and so on and so forth. But honestly, everyone needed a vacation from reality once in a while. Sasuke could just pretend that he was someone else for today—pretend to cast off his Uchiha pride. No one knew he was an Uchiha did they? And he could forgive himself these rare times that he gave in to one of the deadly sins—although one meant all. He couldn't say—even after another lovely go at the public baths—that he was happy per se, but he was not in a foul mood. That was a close to being happy as he'd ever get, as far as he could see.

It was rather late at night now, and as such, it was quite noisy in Nancy's Harbour Café. Nancy herself fussed over Sasuke periodically, making comments like "so pale" and "seems a bit thin." Old woman should mind her own damn business, if you asked him. It was around two when he was about to call it a night. The… party, one could call it, was getting a bit _too _close to him, and he did not fancy having alcohol poured all over him by some drunken idiot.

Suddenly, a loud, rasping voice peeled over the obnoxious throng like cracked church bells. "Be silent a moment, the lot of you!" The room did hush a bit, but apparently not enough to his liking. Calling over the din once more, the voice boomed, "A chance to earn money! Quiet! Much jack to be had, here!" The room immediately fell silent.

Out of curiosity, Sasuke turned around on his barstool. A huge man stood at the open doors, wide enough to take up the entire entryway—which itself was considerable in size—and he still had to bend his great, black hairy head. Even the keffiyeh hung around his head could not hold back the wild black curls struggling to break free. His dark olive skin was wet with sea spray (and probably sweat, Sasuke guessed), and his garments were dirty. He appeared to be, for all intents and purposes, a desert dweller. Quickly absorbing the man's appearance, Sasuke decided that, since it was still early September, he'd make it back before the day he needed to be.

"Everyone, please, please gather round! Everyone who wants to earn some money!" The man called, lumbering over to a large, circular table.

So, with the date in mind, he stood from the bar and strolled leisurely over to the table. He figured it would be a good chance to honestly earn money—whether actually honest or not, it didn't matter. Earning money was earning money, and that made him feel better.

He never, ever forgot—no matter what he did to survive—that he was an Uchiha.

There were now four people besides himself and this man sitting at the table. There were two men, one woman, and one—well, honestly, Sasuke wasn't quite sure what _it _was. _It _wasn't even so much androgynous as just… well. Anyway.

"Alright." The big, hairy man hushed. It was not a suspicious whisper, but it was not a normal talking voice either. It was… casual, but soft; something that wouldn't attract too much attention. "So, for my own reasons, you will be calling me by an alias, but… hmm." He chuckled awkwardly. Even that was softer than Sasuke surmised it would normally have been. "I apologize, I am self taught in Latin so I am not always able to translate everything directly from my own language." He cleared his throat lightly. "I believe the name you would call me is… Thunder." He nodded around to everyone, as if doing so would somehow magically make him correct. Sasuke sighed. He was already growing bored. "Well, onto the issue at hand. Do any of you know of the problems going on in the Iron Desert?"

The two men at the table raised their hands, giving one another sidelong looks. Honestly, Sasuke had no idea that there had been something going on in the desert.

"Well, Thunder continued, clasping his fingers together. "What is happening is a war of sorts. Of course, this fighting was already an everyday occurrence, but it is getting bad now, very bad. I will not give you any unnecessary details. All you need to know is that you must kill these men."

Suddenly the… _it _at the table stood, muttering, "If we have to kill more than one, I'm out."

There was loud clatter as the… _it _fell to the ground, and Sasuke barely registered the dull gleam of a blade from the corner of his eye. It had startled him, but it was best, at these times, to just pretend that nothing had happened at all. No one in the bar looked, or for that matter even paused in their conversation.

But Nancy was there immediately. "You gonna clean that up, right?" she asked in a tone suggesting she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Of course, ma'am." Thunder returned suavely. "I apologize. I have no business dirtying the floors of your fine establishment. It will be seen to shortly."

Nancy looked at him for a moment—really looked at him, hard, like she was measuring up his words—then she let out a disgusted "hmph" and bustled away.

"Now," Thunder continued with Sasuke and the others remaining at the table. "Back to our conversation."

Thunder reached into his outerwear, retrieving two creased and yellowed sketches. They were both flattened on the desk. One showed a sketch of an old man wearing a turban. He looked sad, somehow. His skin, even in the sketch, looked worn away by the sand. His nose smoothly transition out of his forehead into a beak-like hook. There was a mole under his left eye, as well. Close to the outside.

"Well there are tons of old guys that look like that one!" One of the men crabbed irritably.

Sasuke scowled, having been interrupted from his study of the first sketch. "Tch."

"Well, yes, but you will know when you see him. He is an… important man." Thunder replied gravely.

Sasuke's eyes drifted to the other sketch. It was a young, stern looking man wearing a plain looking ghutrah.

"Ah." Thunder said, seeing Sasuke peering over at the sketch. "That is this elderly gentleman's grandson."

Sasuke nodded. This man had straight, dark hair poking out just slightly from under his ghutrah. His eyes in the sketch had a hardness to them, and he looked like he might jump, either to attack or to flee, at any moment.

"Have you all studied their faces?" Thunder asked.

"This won't be the last time we get to see it, will it?" the girl at the table asked incredulously.

"Oh, no. I have many pictures of many faces, my dear." He smiled slyly, gathering the papers to him and folding them back up. "Are the four of you willing to work together, and split the sum? I promise, there will be _plenty_ to go around." He grinned more wolfishly his time.

Sasuke suddenly felt eyes on him. Probing, searching, reaching, picking eyes. His gaze flashed to the girl. She had sharp, angular features, made even more so by the shape of her thin, rectangular glasses. Sasuke thought that she was dressed like your everyday street walker, with tiny black shorts and a lilac belly shirt. Her long, thick red hair was pulled into two pigtails, and her long bangs were brushed to the right side. There was no indication of any weaponry on her.

"And who the fuck are you supposed to be?" Sasuke felt like asking. But he didn't. Instead, he asked quietly, and more calmly than he felt, "You're staring. Who are you?" He was already incredibly annoyed by her.

"My name is Karin." She replied softly. And sweetly. Much too sweetly. Sasuke had to force his body not to shudder involuntarily. "I know who you are." She said in a sing song voice.

"I bet ya do, you slut." One of the guys hissed.

"One more word and I'll murder you, you slimy bastard!" Karin roared.

_Talk about an overreaction. _"With what? I don't see any weapons on ya." The man returned cheekily. Sasuke scoffed. _Exactly what I—_

"Now, now," Thunder said. "I really don't want to have to kill any more people and dirty Nancy's floor again, so why don't we all try and work together, hmm?"

Karin spluttered, as though she might disagree, but in the end she gave in with a roll of her eyes.

"Now, let's have you all state your names and what you excel at. For example, you might excel at recon or something." Thunder turned to the man on his left, who had been absolutely silent during this entire meeting.

"My name is… Beast." He said carefully. He was easily the second largest at the table. He had orange hair that seemed to be styled or spiked somehow. _He has such odd eyes. _Sasuke hadn't seen anyone with that eye color. They were a red-orange color, like a sunrise. _How odd, _Sasuke mused once more. His skin was quite pale. Sasuke could only see the top portion of Beast, but it appeared he wore a rough, black cloak with a cowl. A thick, silver chain ran around his neck and down, but Sasuke could not see what sort of item or pendent hung off of the chain. "I don't work well with others… But—"

"Then what good are you, huh?" Karin burst in irately and rather rudely if Sasuke had anything to say about it—which he didn't.

"But," Beast went on as though Karin had never interrupted, "That is because I have an extreme form of bipolar disorder. When I'm like this, I'm fine… But otherwise, I'm essentially a killing machine. So basically, you should keep an eye on me while we're working together."

"Wouldn't you just be a danger to us, then?" Karin asked skeptically. "We should drop you while we have the chance."

"Aww come on, don't be such a bitch." That other man muscled into the conversation now. Sasuke didn't even want to look at him. He was already grating on his nerves. "If he's a killin' machine, then we need him. Case closed."

"Alright, mister 'Beast'," Karin sneered, placing air quotes around "Beast", "Why don't you tell us why you want this money. You're a monk. Just go lock yourself up in a mission somewhere, why don't you?"

At first, Beast looked surprised. Then, after recovering, he said quietly, "There are none that will accept me. I do these sorts of things so that I have money to live on."

Karin spat at him. "Hypocrite."

"Hey, bitch." The other man said warningly. "Yer gettin' way too personal. Lay the fuck off, huh? Oh, wait, is it my turn now?" suddenly he seemed almost excited.

Sasuke barely prevented his head from hitting the table. Maybe he would just kill them all once they set out. Well, maybe not Beast. He wasn't so bad, really. At least his personality seemed to be bearable to an extent.

"Ya'll can call me the Love Machine," he waggled his eyebrows suggestively before Karin whacked him upside the head. "Fine," he grumbled. "Barracuda. Fer serious this time!"

Finally, Sasuke spared the man a look, giving him a quick once over. He had shaggy white hair, which wasn't seen very often, if at all. His pale lavender eyes were also very unique. He had razor sharp teeth. Sasuke immediately took him to be from Chóra Neroú**[7]**. He was very slim and pale, and he had a very mischievous quality to him that somehow intrigued Sasuke.

"To be honest," he was saying, "I could totally just do this on my own. But you guys can come along for the ride if you really think you can keep up with me."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh, really?" he challenged with soft menace.

Barracuda sneered. "Really."

"Keh. Try me."

"Also," he continued, just a bit more seriously, "the money doesn't matter as much to me. I can get jack where I want, when I want, how I want. It's just that I'm kinda headed over that way, s'all." He explained with a shrug. "Oh, by the way, I do reconnaissance work, and infiltration and spy type work the best. That includes assassination and stuff. I'm great in combat, too, but I'm better at that stuff more than anything." He laughed suddenly. "Something me 'n Beast here got in common! The kill…" he said, laughing again. "Well, actually, I'm different 'cuz I love it!"

"Good to know." Sasuke muttered.

"My turn now!" Karin cried next to Sasuke. He cringed lightly. "Well, I'm Karin." She said almost bashfully.

"Yeah, the only idiot out of all of us to give out their real name!" Barracuda snickered.

Karin glared, but went on as though she hadn't heard. "I have an ability that allows me to see what kind of soul people have. You," she giggled, eyeing Sasuke. "your soul is aligned with fire! How passionate!" Sasuke felt one of his eyebrows twitch involuntarily. "Oh yes! I can also translate from Pyroan and Latin to Anapnoi**[8]**, and back." She gave a rather self-satisfied smile.

Sasuke sighed. _It's my turn… _"I'm—" He began, and he nearly choked on what he was about to say. He could not give the name of a snake anymore. _No… Never again. _His body wanted to shudder with hatred, but he maintained strict control. The next one on his mind was Panther, since cats were close to his clan. But he had a brief flashback of a large black cat in a tiny cage with dull lifeless eyes and— "Hawk." He stated firmly. "I am Hawk. I am also headed over that way, Barracuda." He acknowledged. "And, like you, I excel in killing, and in spy work. I am a good assassin, too. You could actually put me as a jack of all trades, however sometimes I become bored and drag out the fight… My techniques become a bit flashy." He shrugged. "It's not my fault if my opponent is weak."

"Damn straight!" Barracuda exclaimed, smacking the table in agreement.

"Oh, and before you misunderstand that jack-of-all-trades thing I just said," Sasuke added as an afterthought, "I'm not good at the medical aspect of things."

"Don't worry, Sasuke," Karin crooned. "I'll take care of that."

Sasuke tried not to gag.

"Is it settled then?" Thunder asked at length.

Those sitting around the table slowly nodded.

"Well then! Meet me tomorrow morning at the north gate at oh-six-hundred! I'll give you a map, those pictures, and your down payments there." He stood, the chair groaning as it was relieved of the huge man's massive weight. "Sleep well!"

Beast left the tavern swiftly. Barracuda eyed Sasuke curiously before taking his leave as well. But Karin lingered, openly staring at Sasuke. He could feel her boring holes into his back as he walked away and into the hallway where the rooms were. He sighed wearily, wondering if this might just be more of a hassle than he'd bargained for.

* * *

**A/N:**

**1) Metamfíesi - _"Disguise" in Greek _**

**2) Bokor - _a sorcerer who performs spiritual work for clients in return for gifts or money. Separating them from other voodoo practitioners, they "work with both hands". In other words, they will perform black magic and will-control, things that other practitioners will not. _**

**3) Comeaux - _A Creole name; pronounced COH-moh _**

**4) Louis - _Pronounced LU-ee _**

**5) jack(s) - _slang for asími; is used in either the singular or plural form _**

**6) Gi Tou Chionioú - **_**Pyroan for "Land of Snow" **_

**7) Chóra Neroú - _Pyroan for Water Country_**

**8) Anapnoi - _This was in chapter 2, which was a while ago. So in case you've forgotten or don't wanna look back at other annotations (which I wouldn't if I were you :P) it's the the Land of Wind's, or Terra Ventus's equivalent to the Arabic language. Yay!..._**

* * *

**So guess what? I'm not posting another chapter until I receive 5 reviews! :D Yay! And I'll get another chapter out sooner this time, I swear. But it's not gonna be posted until I have 5 (respectful) reviews. Anything shitty and bitchy and flamy will be deleted, kay? :D Rainbows and unicorn poop~! (It's only 10:41, but it's already been a long day. I apologize.)**


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